The City Council met: even the AfU confirms that there is no substitute for the Capa Grove

Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar: Zum deutschen Artikel.

At the July meeting of the City Council, the proposal regarding the possible sale of the small wood on Capastraße had to be postponed. The protest was too vocal. And many councillors in the city council also frowned upon the proposal, as this project, put forward by the Property Office, would see Leipzig undermine several key objectives at this narrow section of the floodplain forest. On 3 September, the agenda also included a response to a question from the Greens, which actually yielded a very clear result.

Leipzig simply cannot replace this small woodland at this location. The Office for Environmental Protection (AfU) was very clear in its response: “During the analysis stages of the biotope network concept, the small wood on Capastraße was assessed as a core area. The area therefore already fulfils a function within the biotope network and is to be regarded as particularly worthy of conservation.

Due to its proximity to other core areas of the ‘Forest, woodland and copses’ biotope network, the Capastraße woodland also forms part of a core area complex. Within the core area complexes, the individual core areas are situated at a maximum distance of 100 metres from one another. It is assumed that, at these distances, there is functional connectivity between the areas and that woodland-dependent species can disperse between the core areas.

A significant part of this core area complex is also, to a large extent, the Leipzig floodplain forest, which forms a central axis of the ‘Forest, woodland and copses’ biotope network. The northern and southern sections of the floodplain forest form a continuous belt that provides diverse habitats and enables the migration and dispersal of various species. This, in turn, supports genetic exchange between populations.”

Which, in fact, would be entirely sufficient to rule out the sale of the land to RB Leipzig.

A bottleneck in the floodplain forest system

But the small woodland is also an irreplaceable component of the forest network. So says the Office for Environmental Protection. “In the area of the Elster floodplain, the connection between the southern and north-western floodplain forests has already been reduced to residual areas due to existing land uses (in particular, development and sports facilities). The forest network is consequently less stable at this point and represents a bottleneck between the northern and southern floodplain forests. This hinders functional connectivity and acts as a barrier for many species.

In order to maintain the spatial and functional connection between the northern and southern floodplain forests, the small wood on Capastraße is an important element of the biotope network.”

And this was all that Heiko Rosenthal, the councillor responsible for the environment, could say at the council meeting on 3 September when Nicole Schreyer-Krieg raised the issue on behalf of the Greens. She was, of course, particularly perplexed that the very same Department for Environmental Protection contradicted this very point in its responses to the following questions.

For example, here, where the city states: “The reason for drawing up draft VIII-DS-02491 was the review mandate resulting from draft VII-DS-02824-DS-02. Among other things, the audit mandate involved identifying a suitable alternative site for the fairground to host the Leipzig Kleinmesse.

Due to the specific functional and infrastructural requirements for a suitable replacement site, no suitable alternative could be identified despite an intensive review and search for a location. Against this background, the wooded area on Capastraße was pursued as the only remaining option for the expansion of RB Leipzig’s training ground. This would also enable the Leipzig Kleinmesse to continue operating at its current location.”

Motto: We simply can’t find anywhere else for the ‘Kleinmesse’. So the little woodland has to go.

No room for compensation

But when the question of compensation areas for the possible clearing of the Capa grove (which was itself already a compensation measure) arises, it becomes clear: there is simply no space anywhere in the vicinity for such compensation for the compensation.

Or, in the words of the Office for Environmental Protection: “Fundamentally, the terrestrial biotope network in this area is already severely disrupted/compromised (e.g. fragmentation caused by the Jahnallee; Palmengarten). Systematic, urban planning-led management and prioritisation of any species protection compensation measures in the (terrestrial) riverbank area between Landauer Brücke and Sachsenbrücke, with the aim of creating as wide and continuous a corridor as possible between the northern and southern floodplain forests, could ultimately even lead to a strengthening rather than a weakening of the biotope network (see answer to question 3a).

However, definitive statements regarding the nature, scope and location of compensatory measures under species protection legislation can only be made on the basis of specialist nature conservation surveys. Such surveys, which also extend beyond the area of the planned intervention, are to be carried out as part of the necessary planning procedure for the rezoning of the site on Capastraße. The results of these surveys will form the basis for further planning decisions, which cannot be anticipated here.

It is not possible to provide a replacement for the woodland areas in the immediate vicinity. This is an irreconcilable conflict of objectives. The specific locations where replacement afforestation can be carried out still need to be assessed.”

Not provided for in the land-use plan at all

And what about RB Leipzig’s alleged interest in establishing new training grounds here? “Developing the Capawäldchen with sports infrastructure would constitute a change of use that is not provided for in the current land-use plan. The woodland area is designated, in connection with the adjacent Kleinmesse, as a ‘special development area with a predominant proportion of green space and a designated purpose (Kleinmesse)’.

As the land-use plan sets out long-term urban development objectives, any such change should be considered very carefully.”

The issue has never really been about the Kleinmesse (which is more likely to be the sacrificial lamb), but rather a commitment made by various officials within the administration to the RB Leipzig football club. But the Kleinmesse was, of course, the focus of the Greens’ question and the follow-up queries from Schreyer-Krieg and her parliamentary group colleague Tobias Peter on 3 September, because for some reason the city simply cannot find an alternative site for the Kleinmesse and is also categorically ruling out the Alte Messe as a new location. For reasons of emissions control. And because there isn’t enough space there, according to Heiko Rosenthal.

But that’s just a side note. The rest can be seen in the video.

Loss cannot be offset locally

However, the response from the Office for Environmental Protection is – as regards the suggested clearing of the Capa Wood – very clear: “Should the ‘Capawald’ have to be cleared in the course of the site development, this intervention must be appropriately compensated for (in addition to the further compensation for the historical impact already taken into account). This would also entail the creation of new woodland of a corresponding scale elsewhere. It is not yet possible to identify specific potential sites of a suitable size for the necessary scope of compensation.

Depending on the extent of the intervention, it is highly unlikely that the loss of the forest area’s cooling capacity can be compensated for directly on site.”

The forest is irreplaceable. That’s what it says.

Outcome: The proposal concerning the Capa Grove was also removed from the council’s agenda for 2 September. It is now due to be put to a vote on 30 September. However, before that, there is to be a joint committee meeting at which Mayor Burkhard Jung intends to present a ‘new compromise proposal’. This will likely be the meeting of the Land Transactions Committee scheduled for Wednesday 16 September, to which members of the specialist committees on Culture, Urban Development and Construction, Environment, Climate and Public Order, and Sport are also invited.

The outcome is still uncertain. Or perhaps, in the end, big money will prevail once again. And the chainsaws will screech.