Rabenstein Innovation Campus

Chemnitz has very little vacant commercially-owned land left under municipal ownership – around 58.9 hectares, or 14 per cent of the existing commercial estates. Part of this has already been reserved or is only usable to a limited extent for other reasons. Without new land, the city will no longer be able to offer suitable plots to businesses wishing to set up or expand. This would jeopardise jobs and tax revenue, which the city uses to fund schools, roads and nurseries, for example. Existing industrial estates cannot simply be expanded because their boundaries are already legally defined and there is no additional land available within them. Furthermore, vacant buildings or brownfield sites in the city are mostly owned by private individuals or companies; the city cannot simply dispose of them as it sees fit.

When the development plans for the residential areas on Weydemeyerstraße were drawn up, there were as yet no concrete plans for a commercial estate at this location. However, the land-use plan had already designated a commercial estate at this site as a target since the early 1990s. At the same time, other industrial estates were being developed in Chemnitz, for example on Jagdschänkenstraße, Kalkstraße and in Rottluff-West. The need for additional industrial space only arose in 2016/2017 and remains to this day.

The size of the existing industrial estates is strictly regulated by legally binding local development plans. Furthermore, there are no other vacant plots in these areas that could be used for expansion.

As a matter of principle, the city first assesses whether vacant properties, brownfield sites or areas that are already sealed off within the city limits can be utilised. However, many of these sites are owned by private individuals or companies. The city has no authority over this; use is only possible if the owners agree, for example by selling or letting the property.

Furthermore, even if a building stands empty, this does not mean it can be put to use straight away: issues such as ownership, planning permission, access, potential contaminated sites or the need for refurbishment must first be clarified. The city continues to rely on dialogue and consultation in this regard, but is dependent on the willingness of the owners.

The size of the area had already been provided for in the town’s land-use plan. It was incorporated into the plans from 2015 onwards and further specified; green spaces and compensation areas were added in 2017. In addition to the areas designated for businesses, the site therefore also comprises these green spaces as well as the necessary roads and paths.

A local development plan is a legally binding set of regulations drawn up by the local authority for a specific area. It specifies, for example, what types of businesses are permitted to operate there, how tall buildings may be, exactly where on a plot of land construction is permitted, and where the boundaries of the area lie. Once a local development plan has come into force, it is binding on everyone; even the local authority cannot simply change these provisions at a later date.

The specific building designs are subsequently checked by the building control authority, prior to the start of construction, to ensure they comply with the provisions set out in the local development plan.

The distance between the planned industrial estate and the nearest residential properties is approximately 200–230 metres. In between, a belt of trees and shrubs approximately 40–50 metres wide will be created around the industrial estate to serve as a buffer. In addition, the surrounding agricultural land, which also provides a spatial buffer from the industrial estate, will be safeguarded. These boundaries and distances will be legally enshrined in the local development plan, so that they cannot be altered at a later date without a further amendment to the plan.

The height of the green belt has not yet been finalised. The plan is to create a combination of trees and shrubs. One thing is already clear: the end result will be a dense, protective green space.

Cold air corridors are undeveloped pathways running along river and stream valleys or through green spaces and open areas, through which cool air from the surrounding countryside flows into heated towns at night. The planning area in question here is an open space that generates cold air. The cold air flows in accordance with the topography from the south-west to the north-east, merging with the strong cold-air current from the north and north-west.

Implementation of the plan will result in the loss of part of the open space; in the remaining part, cold air will continue to be generated under suitable weather conditions. Overall, this will result in a slight reduction in the cold air flow along the Pleißenbach valley towards the city centre, which is acceptable. Cold air flows into the residential areas to the south and west of the planning area from the open spaces to the north and south/south-west. The warming effect within the planning area will not affect the neighbouring residential developments, solely due to the wide strip of undeveloped land.

How quickly the planting will act as a privacy screen depends on which trees and shrubs are planted – this has not yet been decided. As the process continues, a visualisation will be produced in consultation with the planning office and the Environment and Green Spaces Department. The aim is to select plants that grow as quickly as possible so that the privacy screen can be established swiftly. Even the initial planning draft showed what the planting might look like after 5 and 10 years, and this is also being taken into account in the current process.

The local development plan sets out binding limits on how tall buildings in the industrial estate may be, for example in metres or in terms of the number of storeys. In doing so, it strikes a balance between the needs of businesses and ensuring that the buildings blend in with their surroundings as harmoniously as possible.

As part of the procedure, an acoustic assessment is carried out. An expert report confirms that the noise limits for the surrounding residential areas are complied with. The results are incorporated into the local development plan. Businesses that set up operations there at a later date are legally required to comply with these requirements.

The local development plan specifies exactly which types of use are permitted in the area and which are not. For example, particularly noisy businesses or those generating a lot of lorry traffic can be excluded in order to protect the nearby residential areas. In addition, the area is designed from the outset to specifically attract suitable businesses, such as those in the technology sector.

The local development plan sets out what are known as noise allowances, which are upper limits on the amount of noise a business is permitted to generate. All businesses in the area must comply with these limits.

Decisions on the sale of municipal commercial land, which is of considerable economic importance to the city, are taken by the Chemnitz City Council. This is stipulated by law (Section 28(2)(14) of the Saxon Municipal Code) and cannot be decided by the administration alone.

As the parking situation on Weydemeyerstraße can hardly be improved, there are plans for a public car park with footpath and cycle path links from the industrial estate to the sports facilities on Weydemeyerstraße. This is intended to divert the occasional increase in visitor traffic – for example, during home matches and events organised by SG Handwerk Rabenstein – and relieve pressure on the residential area.

We are aware that the existing paths are important to many people as a means of enjoying local recreational space. The aim is not to restrict these opportunities, but to reorganise them in the context of the new industrial estate and, where possible, to improve them. In collaboration with the relevant departments, we are examining how paths can be retained, sensibly re-routed or extended to create an attractive network of paths.

The legally binding development plan sets out the boundaries of the industrial estate. In addition, the surrounding compensation and agricultural areas form a natural and planning-law buffer zone between the industrial estate and residential developments. In the case of other industrial estates in Chemnitz, such areas have never previously been altered retrospectively to the detriment of the neighbourhood.

Throughout the local development plan process, the public is involved at an early stage and may submit suggestions and comments, both at this early stage and later, when the specific draft of the local development plan is available.