Over 1 million euros for the conversion of the Hatzfeld community centre

The community centre in Hatzfeld is to become a community centre for sustainability, education and culture. The district is providing over 1.1 million euros in state funding for the necessary conversion measures. District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst handed over the decision, including the building permit, to Hatzfeld's mayor Dirk Junker.

"An innovative and sustainable project"
The grant of 1,125,000 million euros is disbursed from the state of Hesse's rural development funding pot - making an urgently needed functional extension of the community centre possible. "With the disbursement of the state funds, the district is supporting the innovative and sustainable village development project in Hatzfeld," says District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst. "This not only strengthens Hatzfeld's sustainable infrastructure, but also upgrades the community centre's premises as a meeting place for the village and for the region, promotes cultural offerings and, if possible, improves the energy balance."

Parallel use possible
The community centre was built in the 1960s and has since been regarded as a public facility with various municipal functions - from civic events such as concerts, meetings, VDK consultations and regular meetings of the city council to events and training courses for municipal companies. The central strength of the property is that the optimal layout and size of the rooms would also make them suitable for parallel use if they were redesigned accordingly.

The building is to be fundamentally renovated and converted for a new utilisation concept, taking into account fire protection, statics and energy refurbishment. This should happen soon, as the possibilities for use are not yet being consistently exploited: Among other things, the relocation of the municipal library from the primary school to the community centre is planned, as well as the establishment of a media library and a flying office - i.e. an office that can be used in parallel for various service and counselling offers. The expansion of the technical equipment is also part of the project plan. The basis for the planning was a previous feasibility study with the participation of the citizens of Hatzfeld.

"Committed efforts of all involved"
After the town of Hatzfeld submitted the application for funding at the end of August and this was now promptly approved by the district, the measures and construction work for the redesign are to start as soon as possible. "The recognition of the community centre as an eligible project by the state is a clear proof of the sustainability of the submitted concept. It was developed to the point of application maturity in a very short time under very difficult conditions," says Mayor of Hatzfeld Dirk Junker. "Without the extremely committed efforts of all those involved, this would certainly not have been possible." Many obstacles would still have to be overcome before implementation. Due to the short planning period, adjustments to the concept are also planned. "Committees and the public are closely involved in this so that they are always informed about the current project status and can thus weigh up their decisions."

In the coming weeks, work will be carried out at full speed on the planned changes and the technical planning in order to be able to achieve a start of construction at the beginning of May 2023, taking all factors into account. The goal is to complete the measure by the end of 2024. The community centre as a further public project of the town within the framework of the Hatzfeld village development programme is to be another essential building block in the future development of the town, alongside the privately funded projects.

Background: Guideline of the State of Hesse onthe promotion of rural development
The aim of promoting rural development is to maintain rural areas as attractive places to live, to actively shape demographic and structural change and to mobilise social, cultural and economic potential through independent development. This requires that fields of action such as infrastructure, supply, mobility, civic engagement and cooperation be coordinated and positioned for the future at both municipal and regional level. In order to maintain a good quality of life in rural areas and to achieve framework conditions adapted to social changes, inner development should be strengthened, land consumption reduced and energy efficiency increased.

Keywords:

Village Development Department Village and Regional Development