Summer, sun, heat. What could be nicer than sitting in the cool water? Home pools are becoming increasingly popular. But your own mini swimming pool is not always welcome. In a big city, the battle to ban pools in allotment gardens is raging.
- In Dortmund *, a fight is raging over a pool ban in allotment gardens.
- The allotment garden association only wants to allow mini paddling pools.
- The allotment gardeners in Dortmund are fighting back.
Hamm - The thermometer is at 35 degrees, the shadow does not cool down, the wind stands still. Germany is groaning under a heat wave. If all else fails, the only solution is to jump into the deep end . But outdoor pools are difficult to reach and are often fully booked in times of corona. Good for those who have their own pool in the garden or allotment garden .
| Allotments in Germany | |
| Number: | 893,000 |
| User: | about 5 million |
| Societies: | Around 14,000 in Germany in 537 regional associations |
| Umbrella organization: | Federal Association of German Gardening Friends (BDG) |
Pool in the allotment garden: fight for ban in Dortmund
More and more Germans are therefore relying on their very personal mini pool in the garden or in the allotment area . It can be set up quickly and does not require a permit (provided it does not hold more than 50 cubic meters of water), it belongs to them all alone and it is always quickly accessible.
Parents know: Hardly anything makes children happier in summer than a pool of water . However, a pool is not welcome everywhere . If you don't have the garden behind your house, but in an allotment area , you can get in big trouble. In a big city they should now even be banned completely, writes WA.de *.
Association prohibits pools in allotment gardens - tenants are angry
In Dortmund , the tenants have received mail from the Dortmund Garden Association , which is causing heated discussions. The association prohibits pools in the almost 120 allotment gardens in the NRW metropolis . They are to be dismantled within 14 days. The allotment garden users are angry, because many bought a pool this year . Because of the Corona crisis, the outdoor pools were closed for a long time; now, reduced visitor capacities are causing long faces for those who want to swim at short notice.
Good for those who have their own pool. But he's not welcomed everywhere. In Dortmund allotments, a fight is raging to ban mini-pools.
© Boris Roessler / dpa
The umbrella association of the Dortmund allotment gardens justified the ban as follows: First, tap water should be used sparingly in accordance with the garden regulations. Second , the chlorine in pools endangers groundwater. Only small paddling pools with a maximum diameter of 1.50 meters are therefore allowed. Anyone who nevertheless places a larger piece of garden in their garden threatens to be expelled . The concern of the association: If he does not intervene now, there will be a large pool in thousands of allotment gardens in the future.
Fight for pool ban: allotment garden tenants start petition
The allotment garden tenants in Dortmund think the arguments are nonsense. Thanks to good filter systems, chlorine is not a problem. In addition, the water consumption of the permitted small paddling pools is significantly higher than that of larger pools due to constant water changes . You are therefore going to the barricades against the pool ban . You have put a petition online and are raw with legal action, provided that the Dortmund Garden Association does not give in.
The Federal Allotment Garden Act (BKleingG) is of no help to Dortmund allotment garden users . It regulates the basics such as terminology, purpose and non-profit status, but it does not speak of pools, let alone pool size. The garden regulations of Dortmund are also silent on the subject. However, it is stipulated that tap water is "generally to be used sparingly". "In the event of misuse, especially if no individual checks are possible, the board is entitled to shut off the water supply."
Dortmund garden club boss left:
Jürgen Mohr, chairman of the Dortmund Garden Association , is calm about the storm of indignation. "These are maybe 2 percent of the garden owners who criticize this, the remaining 98 percent are on our side," he told the Ruhr Nachrichten and fueled the conflict still on, "Who because of the pool ban his garden want to cancel, you want the to do. There are ten interested parties ready who would love to take over the garden - even without a pool. "
It is not the first time that the city association of Dortmund gardening associations has been driving the mood of many tenants into the basement with a ban *. Families in particular felt offended. In the neighboring city of Hamm, pools in allotment gardens * are a little more relaxed - but there is criticism there too.
A paddling pool is an indispensable part of the garden, especially when it is extremely hot. But can residents or the landlord spoil my bathing fun? - * WA.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network .
List of rubric lists: © Boris Roessler / dpa