Astrid Bärtschi (Die Mitte), finance director of the canton of Bern, informed a media conference last Thursday about the cantonal government’s plans to forego the implementation of several planned building projects in order to reduce the rapidly increasing investment requirements and thus reduce the forecast new cantonal debt. The government council’s plan is causing a huge regional political earthquake: the long-planned Burgdorf education campus, consisting of the technical college, which was supposed to move from Bern to the Gsteig district, and the expanded Burgdorf high school, is also set to fall victim to the austerity measures. The government council is thus making an explosive, radical U-turn and canceling a regional political compromise solution forged several years ago.
The “historic” compromise is worthless
The Burgdorf education campus was promised to the town of Burgdorf and the Emmental region by the canton after a long back and forth during the reorganization of the Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH as compensation for the relocation of the courses previously offered in Burgdorf. The deal, confirmed by the Grand Council in June 2016, was: the BFH will be concentrated in Biel and Bern in a new campus each. In return, the TF technical college, popularly known as “Lädere”, will move from Bern to the town of Burgdorf, which will also receive a cleantech competence center and thus remain an important educational location.
In March 2018, the Burgdorf education campus cleared its first political hurdle: the Grand Council approved a loan of 1.62 million francs for an architectural competition with no dissenting votes or abstentions. In November 2019, the cantonal parliament approved a project loan of 19.6 million francs for the Burgdorf education campus by 133 votes to 10. In autumn 2020, the plans for the extension of the high school and the new building of the technical college on the Gsteig site took concrete shape with the selection of the winning projects of the architectural competition. In September 2022, the canton of Bern submitted the general building application for the extension of the high school. The high school project was pushed forward separately because the move of the Bern University of Applied Sciences from Burgdorf to Biel was delayed – and thus also the planned new building for the technical college on the Gsteig site. At the time, the government council wrote in a press release: “Work is continuing intensively on the project for the new building of the TF Bern.” The synergy potential between the technical college and the high school is “considerable”.
However, the compromise on education and regional policy, which government councillor Christoph Neuhaus (SVP) once praised as a “historic decision”, now appears to be a waste of time.
In order to prevent the canton of Bern from taking on too much new debt, the government council drew up a prioritization of investment projects and presented two options at last Thursday’s media conference. The first variant, with extensive waiver and postponement decisions, envisages a maximum new debt of around 550 million francs for the canton for the years 2022 to 2031 and is based on the maximum new debt of 500 million francs decided by the Grand Council in the 2023 winter session. In the “milder” savings variant 2 favored by the government council, 13 building construction projects will be waived and 9 will be postponed. The forecast new debt for this variant amounts to 800 million francs despite the reduction in investments. Both options envisage the cancellation of the educational campus in Burgdorf.
The “Lädere” should stay in Bern
The government council proposes that the new building for the technical college, the extension for the high school and the purchase and renovation of the “Gymer” main building and the gymnasium on the Gsteig site, both of which belong to the city, be abandoned. The technical college is well located in Bern, according to the report “National prioritization of investment needs”. In addition, the new building for the technical college “in terms of planning and building law requirements due to objections and complaints poses considerable risks, which is why lengthy processes are to be expected. Strong criticism is being made of […] in particular the large construction volume of the new building in the context of its compatibility with the townscape.» It is also pointed out that due to a lack of agreement with the city of Burgdorf, no purchase price for the existing buildings of the high school could yet be negotiated.
Will the high school one day move to the Bern University of Applied Sciences building?
The cantonal government is therefore considering moving the high school to the cantonal buildings on the Gsteig, which will become available once the Bern University of Applied Sciences courses move to Biel. This would mean that the school would no longer be dependent on the town of Burgdorf for further planning. The government estimates that the construction of a new triple sports hall for the high school on the Gsteig site and the provision of the Bern University of Applied Sciences building will cost 80 million francs. The previous competition and project planning costs of 13.7 million francs would have to be written off. Taking into account the alternative costs for the Burgdorf education campus, this would result in a net reduction in the canton’s overall investment planning of 111 million francs.
In addition to prioritizing investment needs, Government Councilor and Finance Director Astrid Bärtschi also presented the 2025 budget and the bourgeois-dominated government council’s tax strategy for the coming years at the media conference. This envisages a reduction in the tax burden by half a billion francs annually up to 2030.
The Grand Council has the final say
In the winter session, the Grand Council will discuss the government council’s report on the prioritization of investment needs and their implementation. The cantonal parliament can reject the report, but must specify in what sense the revision should be made.
As Mayor and Grand Councillor Stefan Berger (SP) explains in an interview with the newspaper “D’REGION” (see below), the decision of the government council came as a complete surprise to the town of Burgdorf. The more than uncertain future of the Burgdorf education campus will be a major concern for the town and region’s politicians in the near future. Stefan Berger is certainly not prepared to accept the decision of the government council without a fight.
take.
Markus Hofer
