Friday, February 27
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a law to better protect Berlin’s Kleingartenanlagen, or allotment gardens. Now developers can ony repurpose or demolish a garden on public land within very narrow limits, such as for the construction of schools, apartments, daycare centers or hospitals.
Even then, they must get approval from Parliament. Gardeners affected by such redevelopment must then be offered replacement garden of comparable size. This change means that over 100,000 gardeners of 56,000 plots can breathe a sigh of relief.
Linda Vierecke of the SPD stated, “This is unique in Germany, we are making history.” She pointed out that since 1990, a third of Berlin’s Kleingartenanlagen have been lost, leading to a huge need for plots with 15,000 people on the waiting list. She concluded that they’re an integral part of the city, stating that “allotments are as much a part of Berlin as Berghain”.
However, Julian Schwarze of the Greens has warned that the new law does not apply to a fifth of Berlin’s allotments, as these are located on private land, meaning it is not a comprehensive insurance. Schwarze therefore demands that the Senate buy more land on which plots are located.
The CDU, SPD, Greens and Left all voted for the new law, while AfD voted against it.
