The city council has adopted one of Bergen’s largest commercial areas in Kokstad, and the State Administrator has approved Posten Norge‘s plans for a new terminal. Nevertheless, Posten decided this spring not to build on the land they bought for 68 million in 2016.
Instead, they move to a new one logistics center in Lyseparkenwith a planned opening by the autumn of 2027. At the same time, Posten is retaining a 427 acre site at Kokstad.
It is not known what they plan to use.
– Now our main focus is the new logistics center in Lyseparken, says Edvard Nervik, property director at Posten, to BA.
The big question is what Posten plans to do at Kokstad now.
Posten is not alone in building plans to be on the big site.
Nervik can say that they have now separated a small part of the plot, and sold it to the nearby Bertel O. Steen company, which has built a new car shop nearby.
Confusion about energy medium
A bigger question is what will happen to the main area that was intended as a post office.
– We know that there is a great need for new business/storage space in Kokstad, and the area is already thoroughly managed. The traffic situation will also improve without Posten Bring here.
– What are you doing next at Kokstad now?
– We are continuing to work on the development of the area according to the agreed allocation plan, and are considering suitable buyers or partners who can develop this in a good way, is the answer from Nervik.
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Divided opinions about energy station
Since then, there are concrete plans to build an energy plant right next to where the post office would be.
The project has been a collaboration between Eviny and BIR. In an early version of the plan, a station was described that receives and burns waste wood and makes use of the energy. The idea was that the plant should make the entire business area self-sufficient with renewable energy, as well as oversee the district heating network in Bergen.
A few years have now passed since these plans were made. When BA checks with BOB and Eviny about the current status, we get a surprising answer.
– We have to change our framework conditions due to the increase in the combustion tax, and we have to focus on modern energy production, says Borghild Lekve, CEO of BIR.
She refers to the incinerator and its facilities
District heating is steam or hot water that is transported through insulated pipes to consumers, and is used, among other things, a. The heat can be produced by burning waste
” /> which is made in Rådalen. When she was asked if this means that they are canceling the plans at Kokstad, she answers as follows:
– We want to create more stable power on the district’s heating network, but see that in the future we have to focus on the representation we have in Rådalen.
Helge Tvedt, technical manager at Eviny Termo, says that they still want to establish green energy production in Kokstad.
– For several years, we have been working closely with Posten to manage the land area in Kokstad for energy purposes. The land approved for energy production is located in the conflict-free part of the new industrial zone in Kokstad. Eviny Termo sees that Bergen will need even more district heating in the future, and aims to make this happen by establishing a new green energy production in Kokstad.
– Now BIR says that it is not appropriate to have a facility here. Does that change your plans?
– Borghild is right to say that BIR is experiencing changed framework conditions. Despite this, we must work to ensure future production capacity in district heating in Bergen, and an energy plant in Kokstad is one of the options in this assessment.
Working to save the forest
Gunvar Mikkelsen, the coordinator of the Forum for nature and outdoor life in Hordaland, was the one who single-handedly stopped the Posten plan when it was accepted by the city council.
Two years and so many complaints later, Posten had finally received permission, but they were so tired of waiting that they jumped at the opportunity that presented itself in the nearby town.
As Posten has now announced the move, Mikkelsen has renewed hope that the natural area and many wetlands at the foot of Stornoway can be saved from commercial development.
– We are going to complain about the matter to the Civil Ombudsman. In addition, we will turn to the State Administrator to ask how they weigh the benefits of building up against the current disadvantages. It was the pressing need for a new logistics center that was involved when Posten got permission, and that is no longer valid, says Mikkelsen.
Think it will be attractive
Until then, Posten Norge has an approved zoning plan and wishes to further develop the site.
Their neighbors in Kokstad strongly believe that the business area will be attractive even without a post office.
– Kokstad is the most important business area in Bergen. These will be very desirable places. With this location, it will be very attractive for, for example, distribution, workshops or wholesale warehouses, says Ole Peter Duus in Stadsporten, a property company that owns several buildings in Kokstad.
The nearest neighbor Frode C. Hoff in Odfjell Land says that the main challenges for the actors in Kokstad are the long management processes, where the developers were responsible for all the public infrastructure treatment.
– This has created invisibility for the plans and has taken a lot of time, he says.
However, he has great faith that Posten will find interested actors.
– If they destroy the plot and improve the infrastructure, this will be very desirable and easy to sell. Actors today need to be “plug-and-play”. It is out of the question to go ahead for years and wait for infrastructure that may come, he says.
At Kokstad, the main players have their own forum with their own website. On the page it says so “Kokstad is not only the largest, most important and most accessible business area in the region. The area is also undergoing further strong development to become an increasingly attractive place to live, shop and experience”.
– I still believe that activities that serve the population of the city should be located where that population is, ie in the city of Bergen, says Hoff.
2024-10-29 01:00:00
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