Building project in Mehlem Upset at the event on the "Schlosshöfe" project
Bad Godesberg · No chairs, no microphones and plans that were too small: The displeasure at the city's participation event for the "Schlosshöfe" project in Bonn-Mehlem was great. Citizens affirmed that they do not want a discounter in the Schlossallee.
The public participation event on the "Schloßallee" development plan in Mehlem had not even started in the town hall when the first guests were already very displeased. Apart from two bar tables and five boards with plans and information, there was no furniture in the park hall - especially seating. "Surely they don't want to leave us standing here for hours?" was heard, as well as "That's one way to scare off citizens". After all, the event was supposed to last until 7 pm.
Punctually at 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, around 60 citizens had turned up. There was no question of a calm start to the information event. Some of them were upset and asked the representatives of the city and the planners why there were no chairs. "Most of the people who came to get information are over 60 years old. They knew that beforehand," said one man. In the meantime, a handful of chairs could be carried into the hall.
Nils Schütt from the planning office of the city of Bonn, who was going to moderate the event, tried to explain the situation. The information event had been planned like a trade fair. Experts were to position themselves at each board and then answer questions from the visitors. The problem was that some of the A3 printouts had text on them that could only be read if you stood close to the board. "We want to discuss with you at eye level," said Schütt. Instead of approval, he received a lot of laughter.
The planned fair turned into a discussion round
While some visitors complained about the lack of chairs, others could not really follow what was said because there were no microphones. Urban planner Ralf Thielecke, who is in charge of the urban land use planning for the investor, tried to reassure them: "We don't have any chairs at the moment. In the course of the event, he did bring some into the hall.
After some back and forth with the audience, Schütt followed the citizens' request and moved the boards to the centre so that they were at the centre of the discussion. "We want to discuss this in plenary," said a young man beforehand.
The experts introduced themselves and the plans, answering questions again and again. "The planning is not finished yet," said Schütt. The citizens would still have a say. A lady from the audience interjected that this would only be possible for four weeks, however. "If there is a more concrete plan then, there is again the possibility for objections," said Schütt. Information about this would be published in the official gazette and in the press.
Majority of citizens reject discounter plan
In the course of the meeting, topics were discussed that had already been raised at a citizens' meeting in Villa Friede: the rejection of a discounter and the question of parking spaces. There were also citizens who were in favour of the market. Some questions were a bit too detailed because the technical planning has not even taken place yet. "We don't have building rights for what is shown here yet - only if it has one storey less," said Thielecke.
Investor Norbert Lahme from 3L Projekt GmbH & Co. KG from Grafschaft mostly followed the discussion from the sidelines. Only later was he integrated into the discussion by a citizen. He made it clear that he did not necessarily have to build a discounter, this was a requirement of the city. Since the construction is delayed more and more, he assumes that the flats will be correspondingly more expensive. He did not want to comment on the course of the event to the GA, except to say that he was „amazed".
Citizens can comment on the plans at www.bonn-macht-mit.de. A species protection and tree survey can also be viewed online there.
Original text: Maximilian Mühlens
Translation: Mareike Graepel
