The Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) is home to more than 350 national and international companies and knowledge institutions in the life sciences. Employment and business activity at the LBSP have grown faster in recent years than elsewhere in Leiden and South Holland. Despite this success, the municipal council regularly raises questions about the LBSP: what does it deliver for the local community? What is the scale of the municipal effort, and what revenues does it generate? And to what extent is the council kept informed throughout the process? Decisio examined these questions on behalf of the Leiden–Leiderdorp Audit Committee.
One in eight working residents of Leiden owes their job to the LBSP
In 2020, the park accounted for around 20,800 jobs. In addition, companies and institutions at the LBSP create employment at suppliers and other businesses in Leiden and beyond: a further 8,000 jobs (2020). The benefits are not limited to highly educated workers or people from outside the city. At least half of all jobs at the LBSP are filled by people with lower or intermediate levels of education. Around 30 per cent of jobs on or thanks to the LBSP are held by Leiden residents. In other words, one in eight working residents of Leiden owes their job to the LBSP.
Find the full overview of the economic and societal impacts of the Leiden Bio Science Park here.
Property tax revenues of €4.5 million per year
Turning to the scale of municipal costs and the revenues they generate: between 2011 and 2019, the municipality of Leiden invested €34 million in the development and strengthening of the LBSP. Around 75 per cent of these costs relate to regular public tasks such as infrastructure and safety. Over the same period, the municipality received €74 million in revenues from the LBSP, primarily from property taxes, which yield significantly more for the municipal budget than if the area had been a residential neighbourhood. The balance of costs and revenues over nine years is therefore around €40 million, equivalent to an average of €4.5 million per year.
Role of the municipal council and executive
The LBSP features frequently on the agendas of the municipal council and its committees. While the council provides the executive with frameworks on issues such as economic positioning, sustainability, biodiversity and sustainable mobility, it could strengthen its oversight role by making more concrete agreements on these frameworks and by requesting more coherent information on outcomes. Finally, interviews show that the municipality’s role aligns with its public responsibilities, adds value to the quality of the LBSP, and ensures a balanced consideration of economic and societal interests.
