Groundbreaking ceremony on the forecourt

Delighted with the go-ahead for the redesign of the forecourt and taking the spade into their own hands (from left): City Planning Officer Michael Tacke, Christian Striese, Mayor of the village of Nordost, Kai Knischewski, Managing Director of Nordwestdeutsche Baugesellschaft Salzgitter, First Mayor Stefan Klein; landscape architect Johanna Sievers, Ulrike Heilshorn, Chairwoman of the Redevelopment Advisory Board, and Andreas Bittner, Head of the Urban Redevelopment and Social City Department of the City of Salzgitter.

Work is underway during the summer vacation: Not for the 236 pupils at Steterburg Primary School, but for those who are redesigning the forecourt and working there. The ground-breaking ceremony on Friday marked the start of the main work, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Stefan Klein, First Mayor of the city of Salzgitter, welcomed the local mayor of the north-east district Christian Striese, the representatives of the local council, the redevelopment advisory board, the construction company involved, the landscape architecture firm and the district management on behalf of Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, the city council and the administration. "This is a wonderful day for Steterburg," he emphasized. This is because the redesign is another important project within the urban renewal process, which began in 2015 with the inclusion in the "Socially Integrative City" urban development program.

He is pleased about the redesign of the forecourt as an important step in and for Steterburg. "Many players are pulling together in Steterburg. I would like to express my sincere thanks for this," emphasized Stefan Klein and particularly highlighted the valuable and important commitment of the redevelopment advisory board, which was represented by its chairwoman Ulrike Heilshorn.

The children and everyone in the neighborhood can look forward to the end of construction, because the forecourt will then be beautifully designed and offer many new possibilities.

This was explained by city planning officer Michael Tacke. He emphasized that the public square in front of the elementary school would be transformed into a multifunctional place to linger and play. "The redesign will increase safety on the way to school and expand the range of attractive recreational areas for children and adults at an important location in Steterburg," said the town planning officer.

Another positive aspect is that the redesign will create a new direct link from Breslauer Straße to Klosterweg and Hagenholz.

After the main work, greenery will beautify the square and there will be plenty of parking spaces for bicycles and scooters. There will also be a painted traffic training course and other painted educational games.

The city planning officer thanked the landscape architects Spalink/Sievers for the successful planning and the Nordwestdeutsche Baugesellschaft Salzgitter for the implementation over the next few months.

The work is scheduled for completion in December 2023. Weather-related changes are possible.

Everyone involved can already look forward to December....

Further information about the project:

The noisy main work on the approximately 1,900 square meter forecourt should be completed by the end of the summer vacations
The forecourt cannot be used during the construction phase. After that, it will be accessible to everyone.
An improvement for everyone: in future, pedestrians and cyclists will be able to access the Klosterweg via a connecting path from the forecourt. A detour around the outside of the school grounds will no longer be necessary.
The redesign of the public square in front of the elementary school is a project of the urban development program "Social Cohesion" (formerly "Socially Integrative City"). See below for detailed information.
The redesign measure "Steterburg forecourt" is part of the integrated action concept for the "Socially Integrative City of Steterburg" and has project costs of approx. 700,000 euros. The measure is supported by urban development funds from the federal and state governments. The funding amounts to up to 2/3, with the remaining own contribution to be made by the city of Salzgitter.

What has been implemented so far:

In the first construction phase, 20 new parking spaces were built on Schulring (adjacent to the sports hall) and on Klosterweg (adjacent to the school) for employees of the school and the family center.

The flyer about the redesign of the forecourt

The city of Salzgitter has been undergoing a comprehensive, integrated and long-term urban redevelopment process in Steterburg since 2015. The "Soziale Stadt Steterburg" redevelopment area is part of the Thiede district in the north of the city of Salzgitter. Steterburg has an attractive garden city-like settlement structure with spacious green areas and streetscapes. Around 3,000 people live within the redevelopment boundaries. There are a number of urban development, structural and socio-spatial challenges and problems in Steterburg that are of particular importance for the development of the neighborhood.

Since 2015, Steterburg has been supported by the "Socially Integrative City" (now: "Social Cohesion") urban development program. It is jointly funded by the federal, state and local authorities. Two thirds of the funding is provided by the federal and state governments as refinancing for the town. The city bears its own share of 1/3 of the expenditure.

The upgrading of the public space plays a central role in the urban redevelopment in Steterburg. The quality of life in the redevelopment area can be significantly increased by improving the residential environment and building places to linger, play and meet. At the same time, positive effects can be achieved for the image of the neighborhood.

With the establishment of the redevelopment advisory board in 2019, residents and representatives from various institutions are working on a voluntary basis in a committee to further shape the positive development of Steterburg. An important element of this is the disposal fund, which provides money for ideas and measures to make Steterburg more beautiful and attractive: 22 electricity distribution boxes painted by local residents, benches for senior citizens, a lighting system and planters with flowers are just some of the features that enrich the neighborhood.

The city of Salzgitter has been supported on site since the start of the redevelopment project by the neighborhood management it has commissioned. It is responsible for coordination, participation and information between the administration, politicians, citizens and stakeholders in the neighborhood.

The structure of urban development funding was fundamentally overhauled in 2020. The previous "Socially Integrative City" program will be continued and developed in the new "Social Cohesion - Shaping Neighborhoods Together" program. The programme's objectives continue to be to increase the quality of housing and life as well as the diversity of use in the neighbourhoods, to support the integration of all population groups and to strengthen cohesion in the neighborhood.

The flyer about the redesign of the forecourt

The Social City (new: Social Cohesion) Steterburg:

More about the social city of Steterburg