Bad Godesberg What will happen to the playground and football pitch in the Villenviertel?

Bad Godesberg · The large playground at Viktoriaplatz in Bad Godesberg is to receive a new combination playground in 2023. In addition, the football field is to be renovated so that, for example, rainwater does not collect in the troughs. The playhouse cannot be renewed for the time being.

  The Viktoriaplatz playground in the Villenviertel is to be upgraded in the next few years. Photo: Maximilian Mühlens

The Viktoriaplatz playground in the Villenviertel is to be upgraded in the next few years. Photo: Maximilian Mühlens

Foto: Maximilian Mühlens

It is obvious that the large playground and football field in Bad Godesberg's villa district does not have much to offer children and young people. Although the pitch is large, children who meet there to play football have to put up with the uneven ground and also that the ball does not glide across the grass or sand as they might be used to from other meadows and pitches.

Parents in the district have been concerned about the playgrounds for a long time and demand that the city make them more attractive. This also applies, for example, to playgrounds in Rüngsdorf or the playground at Rigal'sche Wiese. The small playground on Brunnenallee has not been usable since the severe storm in mid-July 2021.

Playground concept to be completed this year

The CDU had already submitted a major question to the administration last year. For a long time, a playground with a slide on Viktoriaplatz was fenced off and then dismantled. According to the city, it had safety defects and could no longer be repaired economically. Therefore, a double swing was erected as a replacement.

At that time, the administration explained that they were currently updating the plans for playground needs. Recommendations for action for the individual districts would be derived from this and priorities set for the implementation period. "The result of this playground needs planning, as part of the Bonn playground concept, will be available by 2022 at the latest and presented to the political bodies for decision-making," the Office for the Environment and Urban Greening explained at the time.

The CDU has therefore once again submitted a major question and wanted to know, among other things, when the administration would present the updated playground needs plan. "In the meantime, the youth welfare planning department has inspected all public playgrounds for the preparation of the playground needs plan. The playground needs plan is in progress and is expected to be presented to the committees for consultation in the current year," says the Office for Children, Youth and Family Affairs, which has taken the lead in responding to the request with the support of the other offices involved.

New playground equipment to be installed on Viktoriaplatz in 2023

Although the office describes the Viktoriaplatz playground and football field as a place that "assumes a central supply function for children up to 14 years of age in the villa district", it also puts the brakes on expectations that there will be new playground equipment on the field soon. "A new, attractive combination piece of equipment for children from about six years of age is planned for the 2023 budget," says the administration.

After the installation of this equipment, the playground would be "well equipped" and further playground equipment would then no longer be necessary. However, the administration rejects the idea of a participation process with children. Such a participation procedure would always make sense when a new playground is to be built or an existing playground is to be fundamentally redesigned. "As a rule, there is no separate participation procedure before replacing individual pieces of playground equipment," the administration explained further.

The major question, which is also on the agenda of the Bad Godesberg district council on Wednesday, also asks about the troughs that are located on the football field. "Can the ground of the football pitch, which is located at the end of the playground, be renovated in such a way that in the long term no large depressions form in which rainwater collects," asks the CDU as the petitioner.

The administration clarifies that the drainage of the football field can only be improved in the medium term if the entire field, including the substructure, is renovated. This would require a major renovation, which the city administration would like to undertake. Funds have already been earmarked for the coming double budget.

Playhouse to get a new coat of paint this summer

How much this work will ultimately cost is not disclosed by the administration. The open space in front of the playhouse, which is mainly used by the after-school care of the nearby Beethoven School, serves as a place for exercise games. "This area is to be redesigned. Before this area is redesigned, the children's wishes should be elicited through a participation process," says the youth welfare office. Something is also to be done about the building itself, which is in need of renovation, even if this step is only visible from the outside for the time being: it is planned that the building will be given a new coat of paint this summer. "In one of the next steps, the choice of colour will be decided together with the school management," the statement from the administration reads.

Unfortunately, a complete renovation of the building "can only be initiated and implemented if other measures are postponed", it continues. The reason for this is the "well-known personnel situation" within the municipal building management.

(Original text: Maximilian Mühlens; Translation: Mareike Graepel)

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