Plans to cut down 32 trees at the Ernst-Mach-Gymnasium were stopped at the last moment in Haar. The building committee of the municipal council rejected the approach intended by the town hall administration and the planners. The trees should have given way to set up the construction site for the expansion of the high school and set up containers as a temporary replacement for classrooms. Alternative solutions are now being worked on. But time is pressing. Because at the end of February, the period expires in which, according to nature conservation law, felling can still take place. Until then, a way out has to be found.
The case came up when the planning application for the container facility was being discussed at the most recent meeting of the building committee. As FDP councilor Peter Siemsen reports, he and his colleagues were confronted with the planned felling for the first time in this context. In view of the dimension of the impending loss of trees, there was great dismay across all factions. Approval was denied and a decision was postponed.
Now the City Hall is looking for alternatives. The grammar school in Haar, which has been suffering from cramped conditions for many years, is to be given additional rooms. Parts of the building will be increased and other areas will also be restructured. After an initial plan was discarded, spatial possibilities are now also to be created to implement modern teaching methods according to a kind of learning house model.
But the construction site will initially bring restrictions. The container facility on a floor space of 750 square meters should be approved by July 30, 2025. But that hasn’t happened, at least not for the time being.
“A nasty surprise at the start of the new year”
According to the previous plans, 16 trees with a trunk circumference of more than 80 centimeters were to be felled for the containers and also for the construction site equipment. In addition, 16 smaller trees should be removed. According to the Siemsen municipal council, the structural engineering and environmental office in the town hall had given their approval to the project. The administration described this as essential. “A nasty surprise at the start of the new year,” says Siemsen.
But now, according to information from City Hall press spokesman Martin Schrüfer, new ways are being sought. The number of trees to be removed will certainly be lower, he predicts. In the next meeting, the planners and the architect would present the overall concept of the school conversion again and also comment on the tree problem. In any case, the goal is to solve the problem quickly within the deadline for felling so that construction can begin soon. When the containers are dismantled, a bicycle parking space will be built in their place. According to Schrüfer, they want to try to enable replacement plantings on the school grounds.
However, some local councilors only see this as a consolation. FDP man Siemsen says that the ecological value of large old trees is significantly higher. He warns against playing off necessary parking spaces and trees against each other. During the meeting, Siemsen suggested examining whether the large trees could be moved to a different location. This fits better with the “sustainability claim and circularity concept of the community” than processing trees into firewood.