"Inclusion in the "Perspektive Innenstadt" program is a great success for the city," says Mayor Frank Klingebiel. "With the reserved 1.8 million euros, we are even higher than the 1.5 million euros initially promised by the state. The funding enables us to make the inner city areas of Salzgitter-Lebenstedt and Salzgitter-Bad more attractive and enhance them with many individual projects. In my role as Vice President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, I supported the emergency program from the very beginning because I was aware of the difficult situation in city centres as a result of the pandemic. Without financial support, cities cannot cope with the consequences, such as vacancies. Local retailers have been particularly hard hit. I am concerned about preserving jobs and the retail locations in our Lebenstedt and Bad districts," Frank Klingebiel continued.
The European Union and the state of Lower Saxony have launched a funding program to support inner cities in order to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic with short-term measures. The program is aimed at municipalities in Lower Saxony that have been significantly affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in their inner cities. 25% of the funding must contribute to climate protection. The projects must be completed by March 31, 2023.
"With Salzgitter-Lebenstedt and Salzgitter-Bad, Salzgitter has two so-called 1-a locations, which is why two inner city areas can be funded here as an exception," explains Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel.
The Salzgitter City Council had already decided in July to apply for inclusion in the immediate action program. The city of Salzgitter will now get started with many individual projects that have been coordinated with all four working groups from politics and the regional economy.
"We will start implementing the individual projects immediately. The projects come from various subject areas, such as trade and services, culture, leisure and tourism, nature and climate protection. This is a colorful bouquet of measures that gives me confidence. By implementing these diverse projects, we can help to maintain and further develop Salzgitter as a city worth living in and loving. Salzgitter's city centers should be an attractive place to live, work and shop for all citizens, which also invite them to linger in their leisure time," says Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel.