Frage: What plans do you have for the area that used to be occupied by temporary classrooms in the Marxstraße?
Although the question was referring to the area between the Red Cross building and Willy-Seck-Straße, the candidates also talked about the future of the area in Im Portugall that will be vacated by the Hans-Thoma-Schule.
The Marxstraße in October 2012
Hans-Georg Brum (SPD) answered:
We also have the fire brigade there and a large portion of this area will be needed to create a larger fire station. The current building is getting on and we will the expansion urgently. This piece of land is being kept available for it.
The land currently occupied by the Hans-Thoma-Schule
Die Fläche der jetzigen Hans-Thoma-Schule does not belong to us, it belongs to the Hochtaunuskreis (regional administration). This area will probably be used to expand the Helen-Keller-Schule and Strohscheinschule. And there will probably be a daycare centre as well, in particular for the children from the primary school Am Urselbach. But it depends on what the Kreis does.
Thorsten Schorr (CDU) answered:
The fire station in the Marxstraße is bursting at the seems. So there is consideration being given to turning the fire station into a “Gefahrenabwehrzentrum” (danger defence centre). This project is being looked into with a certain amount of priority. There are no detailed plans. But for that, which we have to have available we need the whole of the land. That includes the Red Cross premises and the former FIS premises. The project has top priority at the moment.
Tappenden: And what happens to the Red Cross?
Schorr: The Red Cross will leave that location. They are looking for a new location, more in the southern part of Oberursel, in order to be able to reach Steinbach and Oberhöchstadt within the statutory 10 minute reponse time.
There is also a resolution by the town council to take a fundamental decision on what is to happen to the land in the Marxstraße. One thing is clear: the moment the Gefahrenabwehrzentrum has been built, that is the end of the development and there are other schools still there. This has to be considered when looking at the options, to see if they need room as well, in order to be able to expand.
When the Hans-Thoma-Schule moves there would be an area for the other schools to expand. But we must not forget, that the Kreis the owner is, and the Kreis has an non-binding undertaking from Oberursel, that they can dispose of their land for domestic building purposes to re-finance their school building programme. If the Kreis says that they do not need the land anymore to expand the schools, but want to use it to build homes on instead, then that will happen, for which I have publicly called for during the election campaign: I want a certain amount of larger new building projects to be for social housing or affordable housing. I would like to have the same agreement with the Kreis as Bad Homburg has, that 20% will be used for affordable housing or social flats.
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