Status: 03/16/2023 05:00 a.m
Will there be a ban on the construction of further holiday apartments in the Sylt municipality? That would regulate the so-called accommodation concept, which the municipal council in Westerland wants to decide on tonight.
As early as Monday evening, the building committee of the Sylt municipality unanimously recommended across parties: the municipal representatives may decide on the accommodation concept and the implementation strategy. What does this mean for the municipality of Sylt? On the one hand, the construction of new holiday homes would no longer be approved. In addition, permanent housing for islanders should be stipulated. In addition, the district of North Friesland has announced that it will check whether living space is being used as specified in the development plan. Owners of holiday apartments who are not approved under building law should then be asked to stop renting to holiday guests.
Serious decision
The total number of guest beds should therefore be limited to the current state. The mayor of the municipality of Sylt, Nikolas Häckel (independent), speaks of a serious decision with the aim of protecting the resources on Sylt and providing the people of Sylt with sufficient living space – and to enable sustainable tourism. After many years, this means that a decision has been made to stop the further increase in holiday and second homes, says the deputy mayor and lawyer, Carsten Kerkamm (CDU). But even hotels should only be built if they have gone through a test grid and, for example, cover a niche that is not yet occupied on Sylt.
Big effort for the municipality of Sylt
If the implementation of the accommodation concept is decided, the implementation for the local development of the Sylt municipality means a great deal of effort: According to Kerkamm, the finance committee has already approved three additional positions. 122 development plans alone would have to be examined for changes and areas would have to be replanned for which there is no development plan at all. According to Mayor Häckel, this can take up to five years. The accommodation concept is currently only an issue in the municipality of Sylt – not in Hörnum, Kampen, Wenningstedt-Braderup and List.
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Citizens’ initiative speaks of great success
The Sylt citizens’ initiative “Merret’s enough” sees the accommodation concept and the unanimous decision in the building committee as a great success, says Susanne Matthiessen, one of the initiative’s spokespersons. “Because it is the first time in decades that we have a coherent and legally secure means of changing something in Sylt’s construction policy. For us, this means a liberation that we have been wishing for for decades,” says Matthiessen. It feels like taking control back.
Ratio of long-term to vacation rentals has already tilted
The basis of the accommodation concept is an analysis commissioned by the municipality of Sylt by the Lübeck consulting firm Cima. The report came to the conclusion that the ratio of permanent apartments to holiday apartments has long since tilted in the municipality of Sylt. “And according to our numbers, more clearly than anywhere else,” says project manager Uwe Mantik. 7,500 holiday accommodations are opposed to 11,000 permanent residences. “That’s not enough to maintain an infrastructure.”
Radiance on other islands and holiday areas
What is decided in the municipality of Sylt is also observed closely on Föhr. “We have this on the agenda and we have to face it. The trend towards holiday home use can be observed on all islands. We will tackle this more intensively in the second half of the year at the latest,” says the mayor of Wyk auf Föhr Hans-Ulrich Hess (CDU). Eckernförde, for example, already decided on an accommodation concept in November last year.
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