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The project is stalling (example photo). © Jan Woitas, dpa
A new building with administration, funeral home and apartments is to be built at the forest cemetery. The building permit has now been received. But the announced funding is not currently flowing.
Fürstenfeldbruck – The old cemetery administration building has already been demolished. The new building will not only accommodate the administration, but also the municipal funeral service including an extra entrance. Twelve apartments with two to four rooms and a playground on the roof will also be built above these rooms. The city administration has assigned the construction project to the district’s housing association. The costs are around eight million euros.
The government of Upper Bavaria had promised funding for the project through the municipal housing support program (KommWFP). Requirement for this: Application and building permit had to be submitted by the beginning of October. “The building permit has also been received,” said treasurer Marcus Eckert in the main and finance committee. The deadline was met. It was agreed with the government of Upper Bavaria that the application would then be approved, said Christoph Maier, managing director of the housing association, to the Tagblatt.
Means frozen
But then came the bad news: “The state government has surprisingly frozen the funding for 2024,” Eckert reported to the committee. This means: Despite the commitment, no subsidy will initially be granted. According to Mayor Christian Götz, this involves a grant of around two million euros and an interest reduction for loans amounting to around 3.9 million euros.
The city and the housing association were caught off guard. The government of Upper Bavaria was also surprised, reports Götz when asked. The head of the town hall has now contacted State Minister Christian Bernreiter, the members of the state parliament, the city and municipal council and district administrator Thomas Karmasin. Christoph Maier has never experienced anything like this either, as he says. The funding program had been orphaned for a long time. “It’s unpleasant when someone dares to do something, it’s not exactly encouraging.” And the financing is geared towards that.
Not dead yet
But the project at the forest cemetery has not died. You will apply for the measures to start early and advertise services – with the risk that the city will bear the additional costs, says Götz. Implementation planning and the preparation of the first tenders are currently underway, reports Maier. The first award discussions will take place at the end of November/beginning of December. Until then, the city is not taking any financial risks. Maier hopes that there will then be clarification. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin next spring. If everything goes smoothly, the building will be completed by the end of 2026.
Maier and Götz assume that funding will flow again in 2025. After all, the funding program will continue into the coming year, says Maier. Götz sees the Free State as having a duty: “You can’t talk about Bavaria as a housing construction booster and then completely crush the funding for the municipalities.”
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