"If necessary, they just put camp beds in"

The municipality of Neuching wants to prevent the occupation of the new gymnasium with refugees at all costs (symbolic image). © Julian Weber/dpa

The municipality of Neuching wants to prevent the occupancy of the new gymnasium with refugees at all costs. For this purpose, containers are to be set up in the industrial estate.

Neuching – Mayor Thomas Bartl (CSU) had already announced in the citizens' meeting two weeks ago that there should be an asylum shelter in container construction with 40 places in the Neuching municipal area. After a long search, a plot of land in the Lüßwiesen industrial estate was found that seemed suitable for this purpose.

This topic was once again on the agenda of the municipal council – but without a resolution, but as pure information. There was a question about where the parking spaces for the accommodation should be built. There could be a makeshift parking lot on the cul-de-sac, was the answer.

Markus Hermansdorfer (WGN) wanted to know why the planning took 15 months. Bartl had also mentioned this duration in the citizens' assembly. Hermansdorfer has certain fears that by then the brand new sports hall may have to serve as accommodation for refugees. VG managing director Andrea Knauer said that this long period of time came "from the district office". In Neuching, however, there is hope that things could go faster.

Whether it would not be better to drag out the completion of the sports hall a little longer, Hermansdorfer asked in the direction of the mayor. He said that the sanitary facilities were already finished and that an artificial extension would be of little use: "If necessary, they simply put camp beds in, and there is little we can do about it."

In general, Bartl painted his gloomy picture of the overall situation: "If it goes on like this, that 1000 more people come to the district every year, then there will be hopeless chaos." The CSU mayor criticized the current traffic light government, which prompted Otto Hainz (SPD) to say: "Are you sure that it would look different with your politics?"

Nobody knows at the moment. However, all local councillors agreed that the occupation of the gymnasium with refugees must be prevented at all costs. According to the current construction schedule, the hall is scheduled to go into operation on July 1, according to the municipality's official gazette.

In the neighbouring municipality of Finsing, whose industrial estate is directly adjacent to the Neuching area, at least at the meeting on Monday evening, people were still somewhat perplexed as far as the planned container plant was concerned. Robert Schönhofen (CSU) inquired about the accommodation on Feldlerchenweg: "Is there already something known?"

Mayor Max Kressirer (WGE) replied that his latest status was that an area offered by Neuching was not suitable from the point of view of the district office. He said he did not know anything more about this, but that there was "great pressure" in view of the many refugees coming to the district. Vice-Mayor Dieter Heilmair (CSU) insisted that Kressirer seek dialogue with the neighbors as soon as possible.