In October the city canceled its Christmas market. However, several city council members, showmen and dealers had demanded that at least one sales opportunity should be offered. A round table of representatives from the city council, city administration and Coburg Marketing was then convened, the city administration announced. “Our common goal was to provide Coburg residents with at least selective Christmas offers in our city center,” explain Jrgen Heeb (Pro Coburg), Horst Graf (Coburg Marketing) and Stefan Hinterleitner (Mayor’s Office). “But now the city administration is practically overrun with inquiries because suddenly there is talk of a Christmas market light.” However, there can be no question of that, the partners state in unison.
However, only individual, selective offers are conceivable. This results on the one hand from the unanimous decision of the Coburg Administrative Senate, on the other hand from the very strict requirements of the currently valid Infection Protection Ordinance. “We always only thought of individual meetings in this narrow framework,” said Pro Coburg chairman Jrgen Heeb on behalf of all the political representatives involved.
In order not to arouse false expectations, the head of the public order office, Kai Holland, explains the procedure again: The public order office is currently collecting specific individual inquiries from dealers about the possibility of granting special usage permits. “By the way, we do that all the time”, Holland refers to the sales stands of several showmen on the Anger and temporarily also on the market square.
In order to be able to process such inquiries as quickly as possible as agreed, the public order office asks you to provide as specific information as possible in the course of the application regarding the possible location, the range, the hygiene concept and the period of sale. “If there is a chance of approving such an application, we will approach the applicant and discuss any food law issues that may be required and so on,” explains the head of the public order office. Only then can a binding decision be made. It must be clear to every applicant that he himself is responsible for all necessary technical infrastructure (sales booth, electricity, water, waste water). “Although we at Coburg Marketing are happy to support you with our knowledge and our capabilities,” adds operations manager Horst Graf on behalf of his team.
However, this approach also has its hooks, “about which we were all clear in the group from the start,” emphasize Heeb, Graf and Hinterleitner unanimously. In doing so, they are alluding to the problem when several applications are received for a specific location. “Then it may be that nothing is possible because we are of course bound by the principle of equal treatment.”
During the discussions at the virtual round table, in which representatives of the Greens and FDP had also participated, it was always emphasized that it was about individual sales and action items. “We talked roughly about half a dozen”, says Jrgen Heeb, looking back, “and never about one, Christmas market light, as it is now partly in the media”. Stefan Hinterleitner points out that the serving of mulled wine or alcohol will not be considered either: “Because everything that leads to a lot of people standing together for a long time or that creates an event character is simply prohibited against the background of infection protection”, Kai Holland makes it clear again for the licensing authority.
In order to steer the process in the best possible way, the public order office will collect all inquiries and clarify the first detailed questions by Thursday, November 19. A final decision will probably only be possible at the end of November, as the current regulations on infection protection only apply until December 1st. “We have to see what the state government then tells us,” said Holland. “We do not want to be pessimists. But anyone who takes a close look at the infection process must be aware that this path to a little Christmas spirit in our inner city is anything but secure,” says Holland, dampening all too high hopes. “We have to accept that and we will also support it together”, Heeb thanks all colleagues from the city council to the city administration and Coburg Marketing for their willingness to actively promote such a solution option.
Applications with the specified clear information can be sent by email to [email protected].
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