Phantasialand expansion: planning committee greenlights land-use process at Ententeich—despite protests and a new citizens’ initiative

Phantasialand fans had a night worth watching. The municipal planning committee voted by majority to clear the way: the land-use planning process for the theme park’s expansion can now begin. Environmentalists still reject any development of the existing nature reserve. Even so, the fight over the Ententeich has moved into a new, official phase.

The focus is a roughly 15-hectare site around the so-called Ententeich, partly under nature protection, in the triangle between Berggeiststraße, Phantasialandstraße (L 194) and the A553. With votes from the black-red majority alliance and the FDP/Volt faction, the committee backed resolutions to amend the land-use plan and draw up a development plan. The Greens and the Left Party voted no; the AfD abstained.

One piece will not go forward: the project-related development plan that the black-red alliance originally wanted as well. Simone Holderried, Green faction leader, hit that hard. The shift “fuels political disenchantment,” she said. And on the looser rules for how the site would be shaped: “You’re buying a pig in a poke.”

CDU faction leader Holger Köllejan pushed back—you can also “get smarter.” The city administration had warned that a project-related plan would leave Phantasialand too little room: a tight implementation window, and an early lock-in on use, location and bulk of the planned buildings. “Attractions typically follow the spirit of the times and are developed and also replaced at short notice within the legal framework,” the administration said. “That flexibility would be taken away from Phantasialand, because every future change that matters for urban planning would require an adjustment of the project and infrastructure plan.” An offer-based development plan, it added, could still allow “further specifying use regulations.”

That’s what supporters are banking on. “We want to start so that we have an official review process,” Köllejan said. SPD councilor Leon Berg agreed and is counting on the expert reports in the process “because we need facts we can base our decisions on.” Both stressed that the outcome remains open.

The Left Party and the Greens see it very differently. Holderried said: “Anyone who votes yes is politically interested in development taking place. The aim of the planning is to create the conditions for an expansion.” Matthias Appelt of the Left Party warned of a “most severe possible intervention in nature protection.” He wants alternative sites explored first, and a resolution to draw up the development plan only after the land-use plan has been changed. Citing planning costs, the Greens asked to wait until the city again has a properly adopted budget—something they say is legally required. The administration did not take that up; no majority formed.

On Friday morning, nature conservationists in the NSG Ententeich network again announced a citizens’ initiative to stop the planning process and the park’s expansion. Before the committee met, they staged a demonstration—around 250 people turned out. For fans, the takeaway is simple: the next hurdle is cleared, the official review can start, and the debate over Phantasialand and the Ententeich is far from over.