Bernburg/Wolmirsleben. The Salzlandkreis is ensuring the safety and well-being of people on the site of the former campsite at Schachtsee Wolmirsleben! To this end, on Wednesday the landowner and other individuals were removed from the site with the assistance of the police; the site has been subject to an official and court-confirmed ban on use for some time now due to flagrant breaches of building regulations, fire safety and environmental protection laws. In addition to the eviction, the site at Schachtsee was cordoned off using, amongst other things, heavy concrete blocks.
This is the second time that the Salzlandkreis, as the competent building control authority, has had to resort to direct enforcement. This measure represents one of the most far-reaching remedies provided for by the rule of law in such circumstances. However, the district administration makes it clear that the landowner repeatedly ignored the existing prohibition on use, as on-site inspections revealed on several occasions that people were present on the site. In this respect, the conditions for the enforcement measure now taken were necessary and proportionate. The district administration notes that court orders from the Higher Administrative Court of Magdeburg, as well as subsequent discussions accompanied by relevant warnings, were no longer sufficient to ensure compliance with the law.
In this context, the Salzlandkreis points out that the landowner has been aware of the glaring defects at the former campsite for several years. The landowner is also aware of the steps required to legally recommence operations on the site. This includes, first and foremost, a development plan, which the municipality of Wolmirsleben must draw up. On this basis, the Salzlandkreis, in its capacity as the building control authority, can then grant the necessary planning permission for building works upon receipt of the relevant applications. This necessary procedure has been explained time and again by the district administration during numerous consultations.
Conversely, a resolution to designate the site, passed by the local council alone, does not constitute a sufficient basis for the tolerance of the site’s use, as most recently demanded by the landowner. Rather, it is merely a political declaration of intent with no actual legal effect. From the Salzlandkreis’s perspective, tacit consent would have been possible prior to the issued and court-confirmed prohibition on use had there been genuinely discernible efforts to legalise the former campsite retrospectively.
Furthermore, the Salzlandkreis once again makes it clear that there was never a ban on swimming at any time. On the contrary, the building control authority also pointed out at the meeting in Aschersleben at the end of June that the swimming area must be clearly separated from the former campsite by a structural feature. Barriers alone are not sufficient, particularly as the area behind the barriers had quite clearly been used.
From the Salzlandkreis’s point of view, the current situation could have been entirely avoided. Continuing to place the blame solely on us, without acknowledging their own responsibility, is not going to wash. Representatives of the district administration have consistently signalled – during discussions in the local council, at working-level meetings and even during a meeting with the District Administrator – that they would support the development of the site to the best of their ability. However, responsibility remains with the landowners and the local council. Nevertheless, providing support does not mean ignoring the law. No one can or should expect that in a state governed by the rule of law!
Most recently, the Salzlandkreis has called on the landowner to show restraint and return to a factual discussion. Given the current conditions on the ground, the operator’s announcement of a summer festival on the cordoned-off site amounts to yet another call to break the law.