From the point of view of Norbert Schäffer, the Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH) has recently set an important signal against the erosion of land. “The importance of the VGH judgment against the industrial area in Teublitz is groundbreaking for the whole of Bavaria,” says the head of the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV). “It is a clear call to politicians to finally do something seriously to save space.” At the same time, Schäffer now expects that the Upper Palatinate Teublitz will once and for all abandon clearing a 21 hectare forest at the junction of the same name with the A 93 and setting up an industrial area in its place.
For conservationists, the plans for the Teublitzer industrial area are the prime example of the unchecked erosion of land in Bavaria. The city wants to sacrifice an ecologically valuable mixed forest, which also includes protected swamp and bog areas with rare species such as the woodcock and the sand lizard. The LBV, the Greens and the Bund Naturschutz accuse Teublitz mayor Thomas Beer (CSU) and the city council of pushing the project forward, although there are numerous other commercial areas available in the region. When the city showed no insight, the LBV sued against it.
In fact, Bavaria’s highest administrative judge is not giving the project a good deal of credit. You are not only accusing the city of formal errors in the approval process. An example of this is that they did not secure appropriate compensation areas for the project in good time. Rather, the VGH also reports “considerable reservations” about the way the city deals with planning and nature conservation law. According to the VGH, Teublitz disregards the so-called connection requirement. According to this, commercial areas may not simply be set up in the open countryside, but must connect to the respective location. It is true that the Free State has recently significantly relaxed the connection requirement, much to the annoyance of nature conservation associations. But the Teublitzer plans are incompatible even with these easing. The city violates nature conservation law on a similarly massive scale, for example when recording biotopes in the planning area or protecting species.
The erosion of land is one of the most pressing environmental problems in Bavaria. In 2020 it rose again. In the past year, 11.4 hectares of meadows, forests, fields or other open landscape were converted into building land for settlements, businesses, roads or other traffic routes per day. In 2019 it was 10.8 hectares a day. Every week two farms with 40 hectares of agricultural land each are lost. Viewed over the year, this corresponds to a town the size of Forchheim in Upper Franconia. The state government has promised to cut land consumption in half. So far, however, there is no sign that it can redeem it. The mayor of Teublitzer Beer was reluctant to comment on the verdict. You will consult with planners and lawyers and then decide how to proceed.