Refugee home instead of district office – residents of Hamburg-Barmbek feel cheated
A new refugee home is to be built in the middle of Hamburg, in the Barmbek-Nord district - on the site where a new citizens' office was supposed to be inaugurated. Due to rising costs and interest, construction was stopped and the freed-up area is to be used instead as an "interim location within the framework of public accommodation", initially for a period of five years. The residents therefore feel that politicians have misled them - they are worried about their new neighbors.
As the Hamburger Abendblatt reports, residents only found out about the plans of the social welfare office, headed by SPD Senator Melanie Schlotzhauer, from the newspaper. "We had a refugee shelter here before, and the police were constantly on site," said resident Günter Kraiczi. There is great anger, and people had hoped that the city would pay more attention to the needs of local residents.
According to the Hamburger Abendblatt, 84-year-old Ingrid Schnackenbeck wonders why no affordable, barrier-free apartments are being built on the site. "Such an apartment would make my life easier," she explains. In theory at least, there would be space and apparently money for this: four three-story modular houses for a total of 396 refugees are to be built on the municipal property. In addition, outbuildings with washrooms, workshops and communal areas are planned.
The accommodation is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2025. Hamburg's social welfare office rejects the residents' allegations. Spokesman Wolfgang Arnhold emphasizes that the city has the various needs of the population in mind. The accommodation on Wiesendamm is necessary to provide accommodation for refugees, while housing construction is supported by special programs.
The Hamburg-Nord district assembly now has one month to comment on the plans. It remains to be seen whether further resistance from residents will form by then. A building permit is still pending, but the first preparatory work is already underway. In a letter on the building plan, the district assembly stressed that it wanted to push for the site to be built as quickly as possible due to the great need for accommodation for refugees.
The majority of people in Barmbek-Nord voted left-green in the last district assembly elections. The Greens won the district by a clear margin with 29.6 percent, followed by the SPD with 24.2 percent. 13.6 percent voted for the CDU and 10.8 percent for the Left. 6.7 percent voted for the AfD and 7.3 percent for the left-wing party Volt.
Source: Apollo News