Temporary street furniture - more greenery in Bocholt city centre

Green and shaded seating without the need to consume was one of the most frequently mentioned points for increasing the attractiveness of the city centre in the citizen surveys for the City Centre Strategy Paper 2023. The city of Bocholt and Stadtmarketing Bocholt took this wish to heart. Thanks to funds for the city centre strategy from the city budget and generous financial support from Volksbank Bocholt, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and is taking this as an opportunity to give something to the city and its citizens, additional benches and seating groups were purchased for twelve selected locations in the city centre.

Presentation

This temporary street furniture was presented to the guests present today at St.-Georg-Platz by Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff, Franz-Josef Heidermann (Volksbank Bocholt) and Ludger Dieckhues (Stadtmarketing Bocholt). As part of the presentation, the manufacturer Vision 7 and the company Green City Solutions provided interested listeners with further information on greening solutions and urban sustainability with the aim of improving the microclimate.

Climate protection

With their integrated flowers and plants, these small oases, specially customised for Bocholt, not only contribute to the visual enhancement of the city centre. Shade-giving trees and heat-stress-resistant plants store CO², purify and cool the air and lower the surface temperature, thereby increasing the quality of life in the city centre - especially in the increasingly hot summer months. Visually, the benches blend in with the existing furniture in the city centre, yet their Bocholt green accents and extravagant design make them eye-catching. The furniture is designed to be mobile and transportable and can be rearranged in larger groups if required, allowing for flexible use.

As additional shading and cooling are not absolutely necessary in the autumn and winter months, as there is not as much demand for outdoor seating on benches as in summer due to the temperature and weather conditions, and as the locations are also required for the funfair and Christmas market, this furniture is only set up temporarily, i.e. from April to the beginning of October each year.

"We hope that this measure will make it even more pleasant for people to spend time in our city centre and create an improved ambience in the city and would like to thank the city of Bocholt and the Volksbank for their support, without which implementation on this scale would not have been possible", summarises City Marketing Managing Director Ludger Dieckhues.