Sparrows halt work on Berlin sports park

Article posted by Coliseum, November 18^th, 2024

Image: O+M Architekten

Demolition of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sports Park in Berlin, Germany has been suspended after an appeal by a nature conservation group.

Berlin Live said demolition began on the site of the venue in Prenzlauer Berg (Pankow district) in October, as work got underway to transform it into Berlin’s first inclusive sports park. The sports park sits right next to the Mauerpark.

But operations have now been halted after an application from the nature conservation association NaturFreunde Berlin.

They complained that the demolition would destroy breeding and resting places for birds and bats without adequate and timely replacements being created.

The 10,490-capacity Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark is a multipurpose sports complex located in the Western part of the locality of Prenzlauer Berg in the borough of Pankow in Berlin (Germany). The sports complex covers an area of approximately 22 hectares and comprises several facilities.

The Mauerpark is a public linear park in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district. The name translates to ‘Wall Park’, referring to its status as a former part of the Berlin Wall and its Death Strip. The park sits on the border of Prenzlauer Berg and Gesundbrunnen district of former West Berlin.

The “new” Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark will be a flagship project for inclusive sports and leisure activities. Berlin’s third-largest stadium will be totally refurbished in the heart of the Prenzlauer Berg complex with space for 20,000 spectators.

As part of plans to transform the site, the sports park which was built in the 1950s, was due to be demolished in late 2024. Work got underway in October, a few months later than previously planned, because of a series of challenges to the plans.

Residents feared noise, critics argued for renovation and expansion – and animal rights activists feared negative consequences for the house sparrow.

None of the groups were able to prevent the demolition of the Jahn Sports Park until this month, when a court ruled in favor of the animal rights activists.

A decision has been made by the Berlin Administrative Court provisionally prohibiting the state from demolishing certain buildings on the grounds of the Jahn Sports Park.

This affects the eastern grandstand building, the western grandstand, the toilet buildings north and south, the old transformer building and the southeast transformer building.

The administrative court said in its ruling, “There are considerable doubts as to whether the loss of a total of 94 breeding sites can be adequately compensated for by the sparrow houses planned as an early compensatory measure.

“It is not clear that their installation in time before the demolition work begins can be guaranteed.”

The effectiveness of proposed sparrow houses is also not sufficiently assured. The highest nature conservation authority has repeatedly pointed out that these houses are not well received.

If work can get underway again, the reconfigured venue is expected to cost around €110 million euros to build.

The entire sports park will be disabled- and non-disabled-friendly. A running track will be set up for visually impaired people and a multifunctional hall will be built boasting a huge playing field on the roof and six story meeting center for clubs and associations will also be built. Artificial turf will be laid in part of the sports facility.

A clear picture has still not emerged as regards the third phase construction of the sports park complex. The City Council is planning to accord topmost priority to sustainability factors.

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