Social Affairs Minister Lucha ventures into the lion's den: he wants to answer questions in the Heidelberg municipal council on the planned use of an ex-prison for the correctional system. The body is brushed against resistance. Can he still turn things around?
Heidelberg (dpa/lsw) - Minister of Social Affairs Mann Lucha (Greens) will answer questions from the Heidelberg municipal council tonight about the planned use of the ex-prison "Fauler Pelz" for the treatment of addicted offenders. The resistance of the committee is great. In the evening, it was supposed to vote on the proposal of Heidelberg Mayor Eckart Würzner. The non-partisan mayor wants to ensure that the building application from the ministry for the renovation of the properties is postponed for a year - from the point of view of observers, the death knell for the project.
The SPD faction had invited Lucha to the municipal council meeting. Group leader Anke Schuster says: "It is an act of courtesy that both sides listen to each other." The country, on the other hand, ignored the 48 city councillors.
In a joint statement, the municipal council rejects the state's plans because they would "obstruct high-quality urban development in Heidelberg's most traditional district". The "lazy fur" should in future offer space for jobs and research at the university and be open to the public.
From Lucha's point of view, this is not a contradiction. It's only about an interim use until the summer of 2025, he always assures. The 80 places are urgently needed due to overcrowding in other institutions. It must be prevented that even more drug addicts and psychiatric offenders are released prematurely because they have waited too long for a place in the correctional facility.
The city councilors are skeptical about the promise to vacate the state-owned property soon, also because of another conflict between the state and the city. Many feel reminded that the country promised them in 2015 that the arrival center for refugees would be temporarily set up in the municipality. The transitional facility became a permanent facility.
