“I’m stopping the proceedings”: With these words, the executive vice mayor of the city of Linz, Dietmar Prammer (SP), caused the waves to rise on Monday. In a hastily called press conference today, Prammer announced the end of the planned rededication for the IT:U near the JKU. There was a hail of praise and criticism (see right).
The location for the new Linz Digital University was controversial from the start; the decision to build there was confirmed with the 15a agreement between the state and federal government long before the dedication process. There is already a winning project – this was presented in May.
- Read one here editorial on the subject.
The mayor of Linz, Klaus Luger (also SP), who has since resigned, and Prammer, who was still a planning councilor at the time, had always supported the location. Prammer now justifies his about-face primarily with a negative statement from the Directorate of State Planning. This shows massive effects on the climate and nature conservation, and negative consequences are also expected from the increase in traffic. The state expressly requires the examination of alternative locations for areas that have already been sealed, said Prammer.
Image: VOLKER WEIHBOLD
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Image: VOLKER WEIHBOLD
Not true, countered Spatial Planning Councilor Markus Achleitner (VP). The passage in question, like the entire treatise on nature conservation, was prepared by the nature conservation authority of the city of Linz. It is a “blatant untruth” from Prammer that this comes from the state; the spatial planning department has simply summarized all the statements. Achleitner accused Prammer of endangering the once-in-a-century opportunity IT:U for election tactics regarding the mayoral election (Prammer is the SP candidate).
For Achleitner, the no to the rezoning is completely incomprehensible. Prammer’s approach is a slap in the face to IT:U and to Upper Austria as a business and science location. It is strange that Prammer is now throwing out an agreement between the state and the city, in which he himself was involved as a planning officer. Objections from specialist departments are nothing unusual. However, it is the city of Linz’s responsibility to weigh up interests here. So far there has been agreement that the overarching interest in a new digital university outweighs individual concerns such as nature conservation.
The planned location is the most suitable because of its proximity to the JKU and the newly opened semi-connection in Dornach-Auhof, also with a view to the connection via the planned light rail. If the city of Linz sticks to its negative stance on the rezoning, a search for a location would have to be restarted throughout Upper Austria. Linz would then no longer be set as a location, said Achleitner.