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The Waag, a red-brick weigh house with a steep slate roof and striped shutters, beside a canal in central Leeuwarden, with people sitting on benches on the square and a modern shopping building on the right

Netherlands

Leeuwarden

Photo: Gargarapalvin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Under a new four-party coalition since June 2026, Leeuwarden is using EU funding for energy coaches and heat networks in Leeuwarden-Oost, testing a climate-proof Wirdumerdijk for walking and cycling, and consulting residents on a safer Schrans and Sixmaplein.

Updated · Checked against official sources

  • Population

    130,634

    end of August 2026

  • Mayor

    Sybrand Buma

  • EU programmes

    6

Latest

No verified news in recent months. We are watching the city’s official sources.

City briefs are drafted with AI from official sources; every fact is checked against the source text before an editor approves it.

Projects we track

6 projects · 4 under way

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    ELENA: energy-efficient homes and heat networks in Leeuwarden-Oost

    With a grant from the European Investment Bank's ELENA facility, the city funds energy coaches who advise residents of Leeuwarden-Oost on insulating their homes and prepares larger projects such as neighbourhood heat networks, from January 2026 to January 2029.

    Budget about €2 million Funded by European Investment Bank (ELENA) Climate and energy

    Status checked 23 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Streets2030: a climate-proof Wirdumerdijk for walking and cycling

    The Wirdumerdijk is the test street for an Interreg project that designs footpaths and cycle paths able to cope with heavy rain and extreme heat, running from January 2026 to June 2029.

    Budget €560,249.86, of which €336,149.92 from Interreg NWE Funded by Interreg North West Europe Mobility

    Status checked 23 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Be.SHARE: heat from wastewater

    Leeuwarden learns from a Brussels system that heats and cools buildings with heat recovered from wastewater, and uses small studies to plan the same for its own buildings, from October 2025 to mid-2028.

    Budget €120,000 EU grant plus €30,000 from the city Funded by European Urban Initiative (EU) Climate and energy

    Status checked 23 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Future plan for the Schrans and Sixmaplein

    A development programme to make the Schrans safer and calmer, with more room for cyclists and pedestrians and less through traffic; after two rounds of consultation, the study of options was open for comments from 17 September to 28 October 2026.

    Mobility

    Status checked 23 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Regio Deal Noardwest-Fryslân revitalisation fund

    Leeuwarden, Harlingen, Waadhoeke, the Province of Fryslân and the Frisian water board invest together in projects for liveability, the economy and sustainability; the third and last call for applications runs from 1 October to 20 November 2026.

    Budget €40 million Funded by Regio Deal Noardwest-Fryslân (municipalities of Harlingen, Waadhoeke and Leeuwarden, Province of Fryslân, Wetterskip Fryslân) Regeneration and housing

    Status checked 23 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    More sustainable city hall: new glass roof and facades

    Work on a new glass roof and glass facades for the city hall's main hall began in September 2026, in three phases, as part of a roadmap to make the city's roughly 150 buildings more sustainable.

    Climate and energy

    Status checked 23 October 2026 · Source

EU programmes and networks

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