Gravel gardens: This is how cities in BW are fighting against the rock deserts

SWR AKTUELL Four years after the ban Gravel gardens: This is how cities in BW are fighting against the rock deserts June 29, 2024, 5:29 a.m. Julia Kunert A horror for the environment, a popular alternative for homeowners: gravel gardens have been banned in BW for four years. Nevertheless, they are still part of the cityscape of many municipalities. Sterile, aesthetic, easy to maintain: the reasons why homeowners choose gravel gardens are varied. The fact that this form of garden design has been banned in Baden-Württemberg since July 2020 due to a new regulation of the Baden-Württemberg Nature Conservation Act does not deter the garden trend everywhere. Major demolition offensive in Karlsruhe, hardly any progress in Stuttgart All gravel gardens that were built from July 31, 2020 are expressly prohibited in Baden-Württemberg. This is regulated by an innovation in the state nature conservation law. They must be dismantled - in case of doubt by order. The municipalities in the state are responsible for recording facilities and enforcing the ban. In Karlsruhe, according to the city, the responsible building authority has ordered the dismantling of a gravel garden in 96 cases in seven areas that have been checked so far - 73 of these dismantling and greening measures have already been carried out. In the remaining cases, the deadline for dismantling has not yet been reached. In Stuttgart, on the other hand, only a few gravel gardens have had to make way for greening. According to the state capital, only two of the approximately 50 gravel gardens recorded have so far been dismantled by order. A decision is currently being made on a further four gardens, according to SWR's query. The state's legal opinion protects older gravel gardens According to the city of Stuttgart, most gravel gardens were built before July 31, 2020 - this makes it difficult for the city's building authorities to take action against them. According to the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of the Environment, this is the deadline since which the ban has been in effect. Since then, gravel gardens have been defined as not being an "acceptable use" of undeveloped land. The city of Stuttgart would have liked to have implemented an earlier deadline. According to this, owners of gravel gardens that were created after January 1, 1996 should also be able to be asked to demolish them. This was justified by the state building regulations from that year. However, the ministries are sticking to their legal opinion. According to the ministries, older gravel gardens must be examined by the building law authorities, and demolition can be ordered in individual cases. Greening regulations in Karlsruhe development plans In Karlsruhe, however, the city building authority applies other legal bases in order to be able to take action against older gravel gardens. Reference is made to the specific greening regulations that have been laid down in the city's local development plans. Development plans are statutes of individual municipalities, which are therefore considered local laws. "Then the date on which the development plan comes into force is decisive. For most development plans, this is before 2020," said a press spokesman for the city in response to an inquiry from SWR. Nature Conservation Association: Gravel gardens fuel overheating in cities The Nature Conservation Association (NABU) Baden-Württemberg also regrets the lack of progress in the fight against "debris deserts". In some municipalities, the removal of gravel gardens is being enforced, but there is a lack of personnel and control - because the municipalities have to become aware of gravel gardens, examine individual cases and order procedures. In addition, according to Helena Sommer from NABU Baden-Württemberg, there is a lack of information among the population about the ecological disadvantages of gravel gardens. Gravel gardens are bad for the microclimate. They heat up a lot in summer and then give off the heat again at night. This fuels the already increasing overheating of our cities and hinders the exchange of cold air. Helena Sommer, NABU Baden-Württemberg In times of climate change, cities and communities need more green spaces and places of retreat that have a cooling effect - for animals and people. Climate researchers are already expecting drastically hot summers in the next 30 years. "We expect that by 2050 there could be 45 degrees in the shade in Germany. This country is not prepared for that, not in the way we build cities and houses today," reported ARD weather expert Karsten Schwanke in an edition of Tagesthemen on June 20th about the extreme consequences of global warming. Climate researchers have long seen large sealed areas in cities as a problem.