– We are giving the Strategy a participatory character, which is why we are creating it for the people of Legnica and with the participation of the broadest possible representation of Legnica residents – President Tadeusz Krzakowski emphasized in February this year, when the work was inaugurated. Today, while summarizing the work, he thanked residents; representatives of municipal establishments and institutions; organizations and associations; local-government activists from various terms of office; companies; housing cooperatives; uniformed, medical and sanitary services; and representatives of the economic and business, cultural, educational and scientific communities, as well as national minorities living in the city, for their involvement in creating the strategy.

– Together, we have managed to create a vision of the city’s development that is friendly to residents. We have a common goal, because Legnica is our common cause – added Tadeusz Krzakowski.

– I am deeply impressed by the professionalism and realism of the strategy draft. It is clear that you have your feet firmly on the ground – said the former Marshal of the Voivodeship, responsible for developing the Lower Silesian strategy, and current President of the Management Board of the Legnica Special Economic Zone, Rafał Jurkowlaniec. – Legnica has every chance of becoming a center driving the region’s economic development. It has wonderful advantages for this, such as its proximity to Wrocław and Berlin, its location in the heart of the Copper Basin, and its position right next to the European A4 and future S3 transport routes. You are focusing on sustainable development and the economy. It must succeed – he emphasized.

President Tadeusz Krzakowski presented the new strategy to the audience. The starting point was a comprehensive description of the city’s current condition: the value of investments increased more than twofold between 2004 and 2014 (the period covered by the previous strategy), budget revenues nearly doubled, as did budget expenditure, while nearly 75 percent of residents feel strongly connected to the city.

The strategy is offensive in character. It sets out a vision of Legnica as an innovative city and a regional growth center, shaping administration, science, healthcare, culture, sport and tourism services on a supra-local scale. The document defines five strategic objectives:

  1. Development of a modern economy based on innovation and increasing the city’s investment attractiveness
  2. Increasing the importance of Legnica as a regional center of education, culture, tourism and sport.
  3. Improving the quality and living conditions of Legnica residents
  4. Shaping an attractive public space and preserving cultural heritage sites
  5. Protecting and shaping the natural environment.

Numerous operational objectives have been assigned to each of them, and highly specific tasks, including investment projects, have in turn been assigned to those objectives for implementation across all areas of city life.

Preparation of this document had already been planned in 2012 and was included both in the budget resolution and the Multiannual Financial Forecast. The President of Legnica decided to begin work on the Strategy by issuing an order on 13 March 2013 concerning the adoption of principles and procedures for implementing the document. At its session on 29 April 2013, the City Council adopted a resolution to begin preparing the Legnica City Development Strategy for 2015–2020 Plus. In September 2013, a tender was announced to select the contractor for preparing the document. The contract with the winning Poznań-based company Lider was signed in October. The workshops and thematic teams began their work in February 2014.

The final stage will be submitting the final version of the draft Legnica City Development Strategy for 2015–2020 Plus to the City Council committees for consideration, followed by its submission to the City Council session in October.

The draft document will be published on www.legnica.eu in the coming days. Residents wishing to read it and submit further comments and proposals as part of the public consultation may do so from 1 to 17 October this year. They may do so in person by visiting the City Development Department (room 122 on the first floor of the Town Hall), by telephone at 76 72 12 383 or by email: rm@legnica.eu.

UM Legnica/ii