City Council adopts framework concept for Küchwald Park and Botanical Garden

The city council today approved the framework concept for Küchwald Park and the Botanical Gardens. The document is the framework for action for the coming years. The implementation of the measures is subject to the availability of financial resources in the Chemnitz city budget or from third parties and, where necessary, building decisions. High-priority measures will be tackled in the short term over the next two years; all other measures will be initiated and realised in the medium and long term, starting in 2022.

Küchwaldpark is the largest and most frequently used park in the city. Its services are provided by the City of Chemnitz itself, but also to a large extent by independent organisations and other third parties. A framework concept for the development of the park was adopted by the city council in 2001 and an updated concept was adopted in 2012, the main areas of action of which have not yet been fully realised. Furthermore, new fields of action have emerged that need to be taken into account. The park is to be developed in line with monument preservation and nature conservation requirements.

The Botanic Garden, as an educational institution of supra-regional importance, is one of the largest botanic gardens in Germany in terms of area with extraordinary local recreational and educational value (school biology and nature conservation centre). However, it is largely provisional and the backlog of maintenance and upkeep is recognisable. The implementation of the previous target concept must therefore be evaluated and basic guidelines for structural and design development up to 2025 must be defined.

Priorities therefore had to be set for the preparation of the new 2019/2020 budget and the upcoming budgets. The Küchwald Park concept is the result of a participatory process involving the park's various stakeholders. It is necessary in order to provide a financial basis for value-preserving and planned measures and to justify corresponding decisions by the city council. The aforementioned potentials and deficits must be addressed conceptually and discussed, harmonised, planned and implemented. The conceptual development primarily concerns the lighting and signage concept. A car park concept that addresses the tense situation, particularly during major events, must be addressed again in the course of planning in the area of the ice rink.

An overview of the measures in the concept:

Küchwaldpark (immediate requirement: 1.66 million euros):

• Renovation of the wastewater facilities (drainage of the festival meadow), 100,000 euros
• Design measures (Leipziger Straße entrance, park equipment such as benches, lighting, litter bins and signage), 1.06 million euros
• Elimination of maintenance backlog and development of controlled maintenance, 500,000 euros

Botanical garden (immediate requirement: 460,000 euros):

• Structural measures (barrier-free access to aquarium house, renewal of roof covering of main building, repair of tropical house, equipment such as benches and additions to playgrounds, information point for school garden), 269,000 euros
• Operating jobs (social pedagogue and two gardeners), 130,000 euros per year
• Maintenance and upkeep costs, 61,000 euros per year

Tennis club (immediate requirement: 95,000 euros):

• Renovation of the wastewater facilities or connection to the municipal wastewater network, 70,000 euros
• Car parks (5 parking spaces), 25,000 euros

Cosmonaut Centre (immediate requirement: 79,000 euros):

• Low ropes course (barrier-free design), 24,000 euros
• Energy trail (extension), 15,000 euros
• Renovation of the wastewater facilities and connection to the municipal wastewater network, 40,000 euros

Küchwald theatre (immediate requirement: 441,000 euros):

• Roofing of the stage, 300,000 euros
• Bistro (catering for park visitors), 60,000 euros
• Jobs for operations (e.g. caretaker, gardener, public relations, part-time), 81,000 euros per year

Park railway (immediate requirement 650,000 euros):

• Extension of railway station building (refurbishment and extension, new toilets and changing rooms), 650,000 euros

School country centre (immediate requirement 1.4 million euros):

• Complete refurbishment of the building complex, 1.2 million euros
• Renovation of wastewater facilities and connection to the municipal wastewater network, 200,000 euros

The projects planned in the 2019/20 biennial budget include the extension of the park railway station building and the renovation of the wastewater facilities at the school hostel. After that, a new large playground and the restoration of paths and bridges in Küchwald Park are on the agenda for the medium term. In addition, the administration was commissioned to take into account the project outline currently being drawn up for the ice sports complex with a possible indoor swimming pool and the planned link to the Chemnitz model in future concepts.