Erhvervsudviklingen i 1960’ernes Farsø – en analyse af sognerådets rolle

Resumé

Danmark gennemgik i 1960’erne og 1970’erne en stor forandring; det var egnsudviklingens årtier, hvor statslige ressourcer blev postet i udviklingen af mindre byer og provinsområder i hele Danmark. Farsø gennemgik netop i 1960’erne en stor udvikling i lighed med nabobyerne Løgstør og Aars. Fra at være en lille landsby i slutningen af 1800-tallet blev den ved kommunalreformen i 1970 hovedby i storkommunen Farsø. I modsætning til Løgstør og Aars, som i 1960’erne fik tilført større virksomheder ved hjælp af egnsudviklingsstøtten, opnåede Farsø kun at tiltrække mindre håndværksvirksomheder fra de små nabobyer. Når Farsø ikke kom med på bølgen af industriudflytninger, skyldes det i høj grad, at sognerådet var fastlåst i gamle mønstre og tankegange. Man manglede visionerne og de rigtige personer til at føre byen fremad i en tid, hvor kommunens primære aktiver, landbruget og stationsbyerne langs jernbanen, blev omlagt og nedlagt. Hovedfokus blev rettet mod sygehuset i Farsø, som det lykkedes at beholde, og et nyt sygehus kunne indvies i 1971. Erhvervsudviklingen blev ikke prioriteret i sognerådet, og initiativet blev overladt til Farsø Borgerforening og i særdeleshed Farsø Erhvervsråd. Erhvervsrådet gjorde en stor indsats, men manglede sognerådets opbakning til sagen, hvormed byen mistede muligheden for at følge Løgstør og Aars i kampen om industriarbejdspladser.

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Business development in the 1960s Farsø – an analysis of the role of the parish council

Denmark underwent a major change in the 1960s and 1970s; it was the decades of regional development where government resources were posted in the development of smaller cities and provincial areas throughout Denmark. In the 1960s, Farsø underwent a major development similar to the neighboring towns of Løgstør and Aars. From being a small village in the late 1800s, it became the main town of Farsø Kommune after the municipal reform in 1970. Unlike Løgstør and Aars, which in the 1960s attracted larger businesses funded partly by the regional development subsidy, Farsø only managed to attract minor craft companies from the small neighboring towns. When Farsø did not get part of the industrial relocations, it was largely because the parish council was locked in old patterns and ways of thinking. They lacked the visions and the right people to lead the city forward at a time when the municipality's primary assets, agriculture and station towns along the railway, were being reshaped and abandoned. The main focus was on the hospital in Farsø, which was retained, and a new hospital could be opened in 1971. Business development was not prioritized in the parish council, and the initiative was left to the Farsø Citizens' Association and in particular the Farsø Business Council. The Business Council made a great effort, but lacked the support of the parish council for the case, with which the city lost the opportunity to follow Løgstør and Aars in the battle for industrial jobs.