The need for childcare places in Schondorf is growing

Created: 01/24/2022, 15:00

By: Dieter Roettig

The Schondorf children's home on Schulstraße is busy.

That's why last week the municipality decided on an interim container solution until the new kindergarten on the Prix site was finished.

© Roettig

Schondorf – urban exodus or “sub-urbanization” is one of the reasons why Schondorf is experiencing an increased need for childcare places. Finding optimal living space in big cities is becoming increasingly difficult, even for high earners. And the corona-related trend towards working from home as normal does the rest to the fact that more and more people say goodbye to metropolises like Munich and move to the country. Schondorf am Ammersee with its proximity to the motorway is particularly in demand here.

With its brisk building activity, Schondorf has just exceeded the record population of 4,000. With the upcoming move into the A-Riva settlement on the former Prix site, there will be a new influx of around 200 people with families with children. The same applies to the "Jaudlschuster" project, where there was a "mix of ages" that deviated from the original planning, so that young families with children will also live here in addition to seniors.

The increased need for childcare places is already evident in the current registrations on the waiting list: Eight children for the crèche and ten for the kindergarten. According to Mayor Alexander Herrmann, this and future needs cannot be covered by the current premises. So, in its most recent meeting, the municipal council made the decision to set up an expensive container facility as an interim solution until the long-planned new building with a crèche and after-school care center on the Prix site is completed. "Due to the necessary and very complex EU tendering process for both the planning and the trades, the opening is not expected until 2025," said Mayor Herrmann.

This led to a lively discussion. Thomas Betz (CSU) asked whether the community had slept in recent years. You have to pay for that with a lot of money now. Mayor Herrmann referred to the limited capacity of the administration, but admitted that he had underestimated the number of newcomers and births. The study by geographer and urban planner Volker Salm at the end of 2018 was also relied on. The additional demand he calculated for the Prix development amounted to only four crèche, nine kindergarten and eight after-school care places. That is why the local council at the time decided to build a new crèche and after-school care center on the Prix site, but this is only now being tackled. Simon Springer (CSU) was appalled by the figures from the planning office, which had long been outdated. Bettina Hölzle (CSU) regrettedthat you are now starting from scratch and have let two years pass. Group colleague Rainer Jiinger said that despite the administrative overload, this project should have been prioritized.

Despite all the criticism, the municipal councils agreed across party lines that the container interim solution was urgent and had to be implemented by autumn.

The administration was commissioned to obtain offers and the necessary approvals.

With rental costs estimated at EUR 400,000 per year, the municipality can expect up to EUR 2 million for a maximum term of five years.

With this solution, the two currently existing crèche groups will move into the interim building, and there is also space here for an additional crèche group to cover current needs.

The two crèche rooms that become free in the existing kindergarten can then cover the additional need for kindergarten places.

The container location at Ringstraße 16, around 300 meters from the existing kindergarten, favored by the municipality, kindergarten management and parents, has not yet been set in stone.

As an alternative, some municipal councils suggested the soccer field on Bergstraße, where electricity and water connections are available.

After the container company and the district office have examined the two possible locations, a final decision is to be made at the next municipal council meeting.