However, the road from the original concept to today's supplementary motion was a long one, and in many places unnecessarily so. An important lesson from the process, also with regard to other and future projects, is that early, transparent and continuous dialogue between all those involved is needed in order to achieve results without detours.
Tim Pasch explains: “It has often been pointed out that there is no comparable project anywhere in Germany. That may well be true. Cooperation in the later operation of a joint project of the city and the university – in other words, of the municipality and the federal state – in the field of culture and education has many attractions and can become something unique. But it also means that there is no precedent. Put simply, neither the university, nor the administration, nor politicians can go and look at how ‘they’ did it – because there is no ‘they’. With this in mind, many parts of the debate of the last few weeks become easier to understand. The current draft resolution would not exist for a purely municipal project. It was not obvious at the outset that this is primarily about securing funding and not about the transport concept, the planning draft or nuances of cultural policy. These points continue to play a central role for us, and we will raise them critically but also constructively at the appropriate points as the process continues. With the establishment of a cross-party working group that is kept regularly and comprehensively informed, one of the central points of our joint amendment has been implemented.”
Many concerns about the affordability of this unprecedented project were satisfactorily resolved with today's decision. In particular, the overarching project management proposed by Volt ensures the necessary communication and coordination between the various interests in order to avoid future cost increases at the city's expense. Nevertheless, it will be important to actively reach out to the part of the city's community that still has legitimate concerns about the Music Campus and to involve them in its practical implementation.
Even though the Music Campus was launched today with broad support, its realisation is by no means guaranteed. Helene Goldbeck explains:
“It was particularly important to us that planning for the WSfM, the SOM and the independent scene, independent of the Music Campus, be initiated in parallel. Our municipal institutions have been waiting a very long time for alternatives, and these must not be pushed even further into the distant future should the Music Campus fail. The mandate to the administration to develop corresponding scenarios without significant delay and within the specified cost framework resolves one of our biggest criticisms of the original proposal.”
