Roche expansion: The Conservation Union raises serious allegations — "Who pays, creates"

Created: 07/25/2022, 22:00

By: Wolfgang Schorner

The Bund Naturschutz has sharply criticized the planned expansion of the Roche company.

© IMAGO / imagebroker and IMAGO / ZUMA Wire, collage: Merkur.de

The Penzberger Bund Naturschutz (Association for Nature Conservation) sharply criticizes the fact that authorities and the city of Roche are making too many concessions with the planned expansion.

Penzberg – The Penzberger Bund for nature conservation accuses the authorities and the city of going too far towards accommodating the Roche company in expanding the factory premises.

The development plan procedure is "a textbook example of how an applicant with a lot of influence at all political levels can push the limits of what is legally possible - building law, forest law, nature conservation law, land law, etc. - for his own purposes," he criticized in a letter.

"Expensive planning and appraisal offices, including biologists who should know better, are at your service," it continues.

And: “Who pays, creates.

As simple as that."

Criticism of Roche expansion: 14 hectares of forest should disappear

As reported, a development plan procedure is currently underway, which involves expanding the Roche site by 14 hectares, which corresponds to around 19 football pitches.

"While forests are burning in parts of Europe, the city will shortly decide that 14 hectares of forest will disappear, despite warnings from authorities, associations and the public about the effects on climate, nature conservation, soil, landscape, traffic and the social consequences," according to the Bund Naturschutz.

He describes the statements made by the authorities as revealing.

The lower nature conservation authority emphasizes the "further loss of important forest areas close to the city", the government of Upper Bavaria refers to the goal of saving land, the water management office explains that the removal of peat soils should be limited to a minimum or avoided completely.

The Bund Naturschutz considers the statement by the Office for Food, Agriculture and Forestry to be “frightening” that the clearing for the Roche expansion corresponds to “around 70 percent of the average annual forest area loss over the past 21 years in the entire Oberland region”.

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Criticism of Roche expansion: Technically justified objections are pushed aside

The allegation of the Bund Naturschutz: "Nevertheless, all authorities ultimately build bridges under which conditions the planning can be approved." It is probably naïve to assume that the authorities argue completely independently of the politically desired result, it is said.

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The Bund Naturschutz accuses the Stadtbauamt of commenting on well-founded objections “largely from the perspective of the company” and pushing them aside “with the help of arguments from the resourceful and experienced planning offices” in order to prepare a yes in the city council.

The Bund Naturschutz is calling on the latter to first examine the possible and desired residential and infrastructure areas as part of the new land use plan and then to decide on the dimensions of the Roche expansion.  

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