The Tölz city manager Sandra Herrmann was particularly pleased with one conclusion: The Tölz entrepreneurs rate the image of their own city as “much better” than their colleagues in Geretsried and Wolfratshausen.
Bad Tölz
- For the third time after 2002 and 2016, the economic development agencies of the district and the three cities carried out an entrepreneur survey.
At the latest meeting of the City Council's Spa, Tourism and Economic Committee, the results were presented “in brief”, as the proposal said.
Unfortunately in brief, I have to say.
The details of the survey would have been extremely exciting.
Herrmann, however, left it at that to present her findings in a hurry and with many graphs on a canvas.
Listeners who did not have documents like the city councilors had little chance of understanding the results in detail.
Bad Tölz: Ten hectares of commercial space are required
1748 entrepreneurs from all sectors in the district had been contacted by the "Society for Applied Municipal Research".
The response rate was 35 percent, which Herrmann described as "extremely high".
The survey was not anonymous as to what the business development agencies want to use.
So you can now better assess the commercial space requirement and ask more specifically.
The issue of commercial space was of course a big one.
23 percent of the 550 responding entrepreneurs have a need, and apparently a clear one.
More than 170,000 square meters of space would be needed in the district.
In Bad Tölz alone there are almost 10 hectares, as the city manager explained.
Above all, storage and production areas are sought.
Main problem: the lack of expensive living space
What is still burning under the nails of the companies?
Of course, the missing and expensive living space that is needed for the urgently needed skilled workers.
Tölz scores worse with a grade of 3.71 than Wolfratshausen and Geretsried (both around 3.5).
The comparison with the price level of the living space is even more disadvantageous.
Tölz only got a 3.96, Wolfratshausen got an average of 3.64.
Geretsried is a bit above that.
Local public transport, parking spaces and local transport links were also rated more negatively than in the other rural districts.
Likewise, the non-existent hotel and conference capacities and tax rates.
Praise for internet connectivity
What are the positives? The Tölz companies give almost a two (grade 2.52) when it comes to internet connection and broadband coverage. You can see the efforts that the city has made recently in expanding broadband, said Herrmann. Cell phone coverage is also rated in this way. In both “disciplines” Tölz is ahead of Wolfratshausen and Geretsried. This is important insofar as these factors, along with transport links, parking spaces and the availability of qualified workers, were given as the “most important location factors”. The image of the local community was not so important in this comparison. When asked why Internet / broadband and mobile communications are so important for the economy, Herrmann had an explanation. They would have gained in importance, especially in the pandemic.Finally, the companies in Tölz also rated the “proximity to the main customer” and the good school and childcare facilities in the district town positively.
Corona: 55.6 percent of companies on short-time work
Keyword Corona: 60 percent of the companies felt the effects, for example through the loss of customers and orders.
55.6 percent of the companies have registered short-time work, according to Hermann.
Nevertheless, the view into the future is optimistic.
55 percent said they wanted to introduce new services, products and processes.
Think of investing and hiring new workers.
