Dispute over the millennium field: is the school that is too big?

Dispute over the millennium field: is the school that is too big?

In the current development process of the millennium field in Leipzig, there are considerable controversy. So far, the city council has not decided on the area that is intended for the construction of a new Leipzig International School (LIS) school campus. Stadtbau AG submitted a preliminary building request in March 2025, which is now on the table of the city planner. Causes about the dimensioning of the school and the availability of public freedom are loud, as LIZ reports.

In particular, the left-wing city councilor Volker Külow has dealt more intensively with the preliminary building request. Important questions were discussed in the dialogue process, which took place on April 10, 2025 in the Schaubühne Lindenfels. The city planning office confirmed that the preliminary building request was submitted on March 26, 2025. There are no legal deadlines for processing such inquiries, but the city strives to edit them within three months.

dimensioning as a point of dispute

The planning provides for the new construction of a 6-day community school with a six-field sports hall. But several council groups consider the planned size to be oversized. The city itself would prefer a four -day school. This has an impact on public freedom that does not seem to be sufficiently taken into account in the school area.

The preliminary building request procedure presupposes that a positive test result is only issued if the project does not contradict the planning goals. These objectives are in accordance with Section 34 BauGB, which applies before the final decision of the development plan. However, the preliminary building notice cannot be granted without an approved traffic concept. Many residents and interested parties are concerned that the existing tram line will be insufficient for traffic loads.

Citizen participation and participation

In the context of such major projects in urban development, the call for citizen participation is increasingly aloud. The population shows growing interest in opportunities for participation in city -defining projects. [Difu emphasizes] (https://difu.de/projekte/buergerbetiebigung-an-gross-drojekt-der-Stadt development) that the planning processes are under legitimation pressure, which presents both citizens and municipalities.

The city of Leipzig has planned measures to participate in citizens. These range from the storage of personal data for participation procedures, to the possibility of citizens to inspect their data or to request corrections. According to buergerger-sachsen.sachsen.de, these steps are decisive in order to strengthen the trust of citizens in municipal planning and to avoid future conflicts.

The way to the final decision about the school campus remains exciting. The persistent questions about the agreements in the dialogue process and the actual size of the planned school building will continue to be discussed in public. The coming months will show how the city can ensure transparency and proximity to the citizens and whether the concerns of the residents are taken seriously.