The selection process for a site for the new Zentralklinikum Mittelbaden has been completed for the time being. The result: The Rastatt site proposal "Am Münchfeldsee" is the most suitable. A development at this location is now to be examined in more detail.
How did the result come about?
Following a unanimous decision by the municipal council (September 2021), the city of Rastatt participated in the selection process with two sites: the "Am Münchfeldsee" site and the "Südlicher Stadteingang" site. The city of Baden-Baden had submitted three proposals: Baden-Baden Balg, Wörnersangewand Haueneberstein and Weiher bei Sandweier. The selection process was based on evaluation criteria set by the Rastatt District Council and the Baden-Baden City Council for the shareholders of Klinikum Mittelbaden (Rastatt District and Baden-Baden City Council).
An independent expert office (PDF) (5.3 MB) commissioned by Klinikum Mittelbaden and an expert advisory board determined after intensive examination (PDF) (5.3 MB): The Rastatt site "Am Münchfeldsee" offers the best conditions for a new clinic building. The experts put the Rastatt site proposal "Südlicher Stadteingang" with the former Peré and Merzeau barracks areas in second place. The supervisory board of the hospital then recommended to the shareholders that the "Am Münchfeldsee" site be developed further. Corresponding resolutions were passed by the district council on July 26, 2022, and by the Baden-Baden municipal council on November 28, 2022.
City and municipal council position themselves on site selection
In a position paper (PDF) (283 KB) at the beginning of August 2022, the city administration and municipal council clearly declared their support for the "Am Münchfeldsee" site.
Citizens' initiative initiates citizens' petition
Since summer 2022, a Rastatt citizens' initiative has been campaigning against the development at Lake Münchfeld and for a development at the proposed location at the southern entrance to the city. It has initiated a citizens' petition and collected sufficient signatures.
Referendum on May 7
The municipal council decided in public session on February 1 that a referendum on the site will be held on Sunday, May 7, 2023. The residents of Rastatt aged 16 and over who are entitled to vote will then be called upon to decide on the following question: "Are you against the drawing up of a development plan at the "Am Münchfeldsee" site for the construction of a clinic?".
Important questions and answers regarding the choice of location "Am Münchfeldsee
What criteria did the reviewers use?
The valuation report for the site selection of a central hospital was prepared by the independent specialist office Endera from Siegburg in North Rhine-Westphalia, which has extensive experience in the field of hospital consulting. It was commissioned by Klinikum Mittelbaden. The experts examined the five possible locations submitted by the cities of Baden-Baden and Rastatt in the competition procedure according to seven criteria. The accessibility of the clinic played a decisive role. Other questions dealt with the size and layout of the plots of land, connections to public transportation, and procurement costs. The experts were accompanied by a six-member advisory board, half of which was made up of members of the Rastatt District Council and half of the Baden City Council, and chaired by District Administrator Christian Dusch.
The "Am Münchfeldsee" site scores best in the report (81.8 percent). In second place is the Merzeau site (77.9 percent), followed by the three sites in Baden-Baden: Balg (76.1 percent), Haueneberstein (75.9 percent), Sandweier (65.1 percent).
Which clubs at the "Am Münchfeldsee" site are affected by the new clinic construction?
Three clubs currently use areas at the Münchfeldsee site: RSC/DJK e.V., Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde-Ortsgruppe Rastatt and Angelsportverein Rastatt 1923 e.V. However, a relocation of areas would only be necessary for the RSC/DJK and the Schäferhundeverein. A change of area for the RSC/DJK or a concentration of the soccer fields in Münchfeld is already being considered in the context of sports development planning (PDF) (1.3 MB), independent of the new clinic construction.
The angling club can continue to use the lake as a tenant of the Münchfeldsee. This is because the Münchfeldsee is not needed for the new clinic building and is therefore not to be sold.
Since the beginning of the search for a location for the clinic, the city administration has been in contact with all the associations concerned and will continue to conduct this dialog intensively - with the aim of finding good solutions for the two associations concerned.
Is it true that the Münchfeldsee site is located in a nature reserve?
Is it true that a municipal climate report has classified a development at the Münchfeldsee site as problematic for the climate?
No, first of all, there is no official climate report, but only a climate analysis from 2017 (PDF) (8.2 MB), which is used as a working paper for various projects in the administration. In the analysis, the entire area of the city of Rastatt has been divided into clusters and evaluated in terms of temperature distribution, fresh air flows and other microclimatic effects, under different framework conditions than today. The analysis definitely does not argue against development at the site. On the contrary, it shows that due to the subsidence of the Münchfeldsee site, there would be hardly any climatic impairments caused by a development. This is different for the Merzeau site. The municipal climate protection officer Martin Schursch emphasizes: "A deterioration of the fresh air conditions through a development at the Münchfeldsee site for the adjacent area cannot be assumed. The situation is different in the Merzeau area, which also has a very high bioclimatic significance."
With the construction of the clinic, is Lake Münchfeld dead as a recreational area for the public?
What about the cross span? Is it coming at all? Will construction be delayed by the hospital? Will it even bring the necessary traffic relief?
The cross-span will bring the necessary traffic relief. The traffic model anticipates a significant reduction in traffic on Badener Strasse. In order to make driving on Badener Straße unattractive and to relieve the adjacent streets, further traffic control measures are planned, such as through-traffic restrictions or stopping bans. The cross span will be built independently of the construction of the clinic and will not be affected by it in terms of timing. Access to the clinic is to be provided directly via the cross span.
Since the Transverse Link is a measure of the Karlsruhe Regional Council (RP), the RP must first carry out a planning approval procedure. During this process, all affected authorities and citizens can inform themselves about the cross-connection and comment on the project. The next step is planning and the invitation to tender. The city council expects construction to begin in 2026, with a construction period of around two years.
What about noise pollution from the hospital?
All residential buildings in Münchfeld are located in legally binding development plans that define a so-called pure residential area or a general residential area. The Building Usage Ordinance stipulates that noise limits must be complied with for these areas. This applies equally to traffic and to sports facilities or to the operational noise generated by a hospital. Any new use must comply with these limits.
Is it true that the microclimate will suffer if the clinic is built on Lake Münchfeld?
Due to the adjacent forest and water area, cold air forms directly at the edge of the settlement. Any change in this situation in Münchfeld, but also in any other place in the city where additional, new buildings are built, is accompanied by a change in cold air flows.
The city of Rastatt is interested in keeping the effects of a new clinic building on the microclimate as low as possible and compensating for them. Since the Münchfeldsiedlung and Münchfeld are residential areas with many green spaces, there are particularly good conditions for this. In the context of the climate adaptation concept that the city of Rastatt is currently drawing up, appropriate measures are also being planned for the entire city. This will be taken into account and implemented immediately during the construction of the clinic.
Why doesn't the city do more to ensure that the "southern entrance to the city" is chosen as the location for the new central hospital?
The KMB's site selection process aims to find the best location for a new building. This was done according to professional criteria that were also used for other hospital projects. To this end, the city has put both offers of land into the running on an equal footing and without prioritization on the basis of the tender criteria. The decision as to which site is subsequently awarded the contract is made by the shareholders of the KMB through the Rastatt district council and the Baden-Baden municipal council, and not by the city of Rastatt.
Why did the city not involve the citizenry in the site selection process?
The Klinikum Mittelbaden was the master of the selection process, not the city of Rastatt. Communication about the selection process was very transparent and public - in Rastatt in the form of public resolutions in the municipal council, at various information events held by the hospital, and on the hospital's website with a presentation of the process and the state of affairs. As soon as the process is completed, Rastatt will invite the public to an information event and involve them as far as possible in the next steps.
In its application, the city of Rastatt assumed that the former barracks site was also suitable for a central hospital. Why was there a downgrade in the evaluation here?
The planning office Astoc, which was commissioned by the city and also has experience in hospital planning, considered both sites (Am Münchfeldsee and Südlicher Stadteingang) and their layouts to be well suited. However, KMB's reviewers concluded that the tapered barracks site would limit planners. They saw another constraint in the large sewer that runs through the property and cannot be built over. In contrast, they say, the property at Lake Münchfeld is clearly more suitable. It is not in the hands of the city of Rastatt to change the assessment of the appraisers who are working on behalf of Klinikum Mittelbaden.
If Rastatt withdraws Lake Münchfeld as a site, then surely site two, i.e. the southern entrance to the city, will automatically move up? Or not?
No. On the contrary, there is a risk that the selection process will be reopened and there will be a considerable loss of time. In addition, it is unclear whether a Rastatt site will ultimately be chosen at all. If the city were to no longer make available the site that was deemed most suitable in the previous competition process - after the recommendation of the experts and the decisions in the supervisory board and district council - it would also make itself untrustworthy. After all, by submitting the applications, the city accepted the selection process.
Video of the talk round Central Hospital at the New Year's reception
Project Coordination Site Proposal Lake Münchfeld
Related links
Downloads
Municipal council documents dated 1.2.2023 regarding the citizens' petition for the preservation of the recreation area "Am Münchfeldsee"
GR-Drucksache 30.9.21 New construction of the central clinic (PDF) (296 KB)