The city council group comprising the Free Voters and the “FÜR Karlsruhe” voters’ group has submitted a request to the city administration to clarify important questions regarding the ecological impact of the measures for the planned industrial estate in Gottesauer Feld.
The city council group’s request follows the statement by the German Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation (B.U.N.D.).
The B.U.N.D. expressed considerable concerns regarding the environmental compatibility of the project.
In particular, there are questions as to why alternative measures for unsealing compensation areas were not examined.
The city council group would also like to know how it was determined that the developed and sealed commercial area should have a higher value in terms of biotopes than the current unused state of the area.
“The impact on the local climate must be sufficiently taken into account. If this has not been done so far, it must be clarified what measures are being taken to adequately address these aspects. The information that the city has published so far has contributed more to confusion and uncertainty than drawing a clear plan for the future of Gottesauer Feld,” said city councillor Petra Lorenz (Freie Wähler).
In the last vote on the creation of a new commercial area in Gottesauer Feld, the city council group of independent voters and “FÜR Karlsruhe” voted in favor of the project. Nevertheless, the subsequent concerns and the detailed statement by B.U.N.D. have raised questions that now need to be clarified. City Councillor Friedemann Kalmbach (FÜR Karlsruhe) explains: “It is crucial that we carefully weigh up the balance between economic development and environmental protection. We want to ensure that all potential negative impacts on the environment and the local climate have been properly considered.”
In its statement, the B.U.N.D. emphasized that the city administration had not sufficiently examined measures for unsealing compensation areas and that unrealistic assumptions had been made in the life cycle assessment. It also criticized the fact that a poplar forest was to be cleared to make room for an alder forest, which would lead to additional eco-points.
The city council group “Freie Wähler” and “FÜR Karlsruhe” is therefore calling on the city administration to provide comprehensive and transparent information and, if necessary, to make improvements in order to dispel the ecological concerns and optimize the planning in the interests of all those involved.
