Bremerhaven City Hall: Renovation under suspicion of asbestos – what now?

Bremerhaven City Hall: Renovation under suspicion of asbestos – what now?

The topic surrounding the renovation of the town hall in Bremerhaven is currently causing a lot of discussion in the city parliament. At the upcoming meeting on Thursday, the “The Seagulls” parliamentary group will take a pulse and submit a request that will provide information about the current status of the renovation work. With an eye on the future, the group would also like to know the schedule for the remaining work. It will be exciting, because the magistrate has already announced that it will comment on this at the meeting on Thursday, as NORDSEE-ZEITUNG reports.

The town hall itself is in urgent need of renovation. A report revealed that asbestos can be found in parts of the roofing and in the tile adhesive in the shower rooms. This topic has been haunting the minds of Bremerhaven residents for a long time. In May, the Finance and Economics Committee discussed the possibility of a new building or a renovation, with the decision ultimately being made to renovate during ongoing operations - with a budget of up to 40 million euros. A bitter-tasting aspect, however, is that the operating license was revoked at the end of 2023 due to a lack of fire protection and events can only take place until June 30, 2025 under certain conditions, as buten un binnen reports.

The challenges of renovation

Time is of the essence and the city is faced with the challenge of keeping the town hall both safe and usable. Experts warn that other pollutant materials may be present in hidden parts of the building. Therefore, in order to prepare the renovation measures, the town hall management commissioned IGC Geoconsul to create a pollutant register. This clearly shows how important it is to check indoor air quality. A measurement of the indoor air is scheduled for mid-October, whereby any harmful contamination must also be ruled out. The government coalition, consisting of the SPD, CDU and FDP, confirms that the town hall, which is in need of renovation, should be preserved, while the opposition, led by the Greens and Alliance Germany, does not feel sufficiently informed, according to Nord24.

The search for suitable planning offices for the development of the renovation is also being delayed. Ultimately, the contracts must be advertised across Europe and the town hall management aims to have taken the first steps in this regard by November. A comprehensive renovation concept should be available by spring. It remains to be seen whether the upcoming meeting of the city parliament on Thursday will bring the hoped-for clarity - especially on the question of the effects of planned cuts on ice sports in Bremerhaven.