Centre for classic yachting: Private investor preferred - end for classic yacht project in Kiel?

The commission entrusted by the City of Kiel with the award procedure proposes a private investor to the council as the leaseholder for the former site of the British Kiel Yacht Club ( Click here for the minutes of the relevant meeting of the Public Procurement Committee ). If city politicians follow this proposal in the vote due to take place at the beginning of October, this would be the end for the concept presented by the Freundeskreis Klassische Yachten a publicly accessible centre for maritime culture relating to traditional boatbuilding and classic yachting.

"It's an affront to the district," says Wilfried Horns, one of the spokespersons for the "Centre for Classic Yachting" project. After all, the years of work carried out by his team of volunteers were primarily aimed at involving schools and clubs in the activities planned for the site.

With this idea, the Freundeskreis members had fulfilled conditions imposed on the city by the Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben (BImA) when purchasing the land for its lease. Whether this aspect was sufficiently taken into account in the recommendation of the award commission is now to be clarified by way of a procedural complaint, which the Freundeskreis has initiated.

Lengthy award procedure

On 10 December 2015, the Kiel City Council had already unanimously decided to acquire the site in Holtenau from the federal government, which had been home to the sailing centre of the British armed forces since the end of the war. Following the purchase in November 2020, the Friends of Classic Yachts to take over the site - which includes the jetty, slipway, boat hall and various outbuildings - on a leasehold basis and to be able to build the "Centre for Classic Yachting" here.

The property had long captured the imagination of many institutions and investors. The Freundeskreis had also been working for many years to be able to present its concept linked above, which takes into account the ideas and wishes of the city representatives as representatives of the interests of the Kiel public.

Binding council decision

These result from a council resolution that defines a clearly defined City councillors' utilisation concept for the site is planned. The aim is to create a "museum-like educational and craft centre on the subject of sailing and shipbuilding" on the site. However, the resolution also mentions the "consideration of the expansion needs of the commercial and industrial neighbourhood of the shipyards".

This aspect was perhaps prioritised over the interests of the general public in the recommendation made by the award committee earlier this week. The committee's favourite operates a nearby service company with a repair yard, yacht dealership and winter storage facility.

Open Harbour" concept of the Circle of Friends

The Friends' concept, on the other hand, emphasises the need to open up the site to the general public and to develop an educational and craft museum on the site, as on the website www.fky.org is executed:

The facilities of a documentation and communication centre "Zeithaus" and a "Transparent Shipyard" as well as the classic yachts moored at the jetty are the mainstays:

• The GLÄSERNE WERFT shipyard for the continuation and preservation of classic wooden boatbuilding, open to the public and for visitors to experience. Carrying out restorations and boatbuilding-related youth projects and sailing holidays, the winter storage facility we run in the hall becomes an extended workbench of the Gläserne Werft.
• the ZEITHAUS as a centre for the contemporary history of yachting with changing exhibitions, complemented by a contemporary presentation of classic yachts on the jetty.
• the STEGANLAGE as a berth for classic yachts and the basis for sailing events and sailing projects.

Through activities for everyone, workshops and lectures, the maritime craft and its culture are made tangible and visible. In cooperation with schools, clubs and the local church, young people from the neighbouring districts in particular are given the opportunity to work on suitable boats, from dinghies to folk boats, in a youth cutter project and sail them in the summer.

These offers are closely linked through partnerships with the projects of maritime companies and cultural initiatives that are geared towards the protection, conservation and sustainable use of the oceans.

For example, the underwater path and the aquator of the Coastal Research & Management CRM, the activities of Ocean Basis and the Kiel Marine Farm or the projects of the Lighthouse Foundation similar to the activities in Schleimünde and the Holtenau bathing centre. The OPEN HARBOUR will become the nucleus for a sustainable and knowledge transfer-orientated location for maritime environmental projects and existing and newly founded craft businesses that combine classic boatbuilding tradition and innovation.

On the green spaces of the former British-Kiel-Yacht-Club, islands are being created where guests can linger, play and do sports and enjoy the maritime ambience of Plüschowhafen 24/7 from a guest's perspective - whether from the jetty, the beach or the revitalised canteen in the central blue and white building.

All the facilities together form an OPEN HARBOUR, the framework for maritime events, meeting points on the water for the residents of the surrounding districts, attractions such as guided tours, excursions, regattas, educational and youth projects in cooperation with local schools, clubs and social work organisations.

We have to realise that the implementation of an OPEN HARBOUR with classic yachts, a youth cutter project, water sports for everyone, a restaurant, playground, workshops, educational projects, etc. requires comprehensive access to the central and eastern areas and the jetty.

We are striving for a special solution for the buildings in the centre plot. For us, it is a fact that an existing solution that preserves the canteen building and the office building is much more favourable than a new building solution. We advocate a revitalisation that takes into account all aspects of building culture and environmental concerns. A CO2 balance, for example, shows this advantage. A rough estimate: 70 % of CO2 emissions are caused by the building's construction and 30 % by its operation. Legislators are also preparing corresponding changes to regulations that extend the footprint to the entire life cycle as a requirement for the assessment of new buildings.

Conclusion:We want to realise a cultural education and crafts location on the subject of sailing and wooden boat building as an OPEN HARBOUR. combined with strong initiatives for the development of the neighbourhoods in tourist, social and economic terms as well as for the protection of the seas and their sustainable use. Please give civil society involvement, which is characterised by voluntarism, a lack of personal or material gain and a focus on the common good, a chance.

Recommendation based on formalities

The concept process finally began in September 2021, during which four other utilisation concepts were presented to the award committee in addition to the "Centre for Classic Yachting". In January 2022, the formal requirements for the final application were then communicated, of which only one candidate fulfilled all of them, as the city's project manager was quoted by the "Kieler Nachrichten" newspaper.

In a procedural complaint, the Freundeskreis criticised the fact that the substantive requirements of city policy were not sufficiently taken into account, as they were decided with regard to the common good. In particular, the required museum reference was lacking.

Another connecting factor is the demolition of the office and canteen building and the construction of a new one, as requested in the tender. This requirement is justified by the creation of a waterside passageway for the general public. The "Open Harbour" concept envisaged ensuring this passage via a promenade to be constructed, although the buildings were to remain standing after revitalisation in view of the sustainability also required.

"In our opinion and according to our calculations, the new construction of office and canteen buildings (in part) can only be achieved through purely commercial uses," said the representatives of the Freundeskreis. However, by favouring such a concept, the state capital of Kiel is deviating from its own assessment guidelines.

Concepts need to be reassessed

In a letter to the City of Kiel's process management, the volunteer members of the "Centre for Classic Yachting" project have now formulated the expectation that the concepts will be re-evaluated in light of their points of criticism.