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Court Halts Pankow Refugee Housing Plan Over Flawed Wildlife Permit

The court cited a vague species-protection exemption lacking specifics on covered species or impacts.

Overview

  • Berlin’s administrative court ruled in an expedited case that the species-protection exemption was not sufficiently specific and resembled an unlawful blank authorization.
  • Judges rejected Gesobau’s request to begin preparatory vegetation clearing before the objection process concluded.
  • Gesobau had planned housing for about 420 refugees in two green inner courtyards on Kavalierstraße and Ossietzkystraße in Pankow.
  • Three conservation groups challenged the permit over risks to protected nesting birds and bats, with local activists calling the site unsuitable.
  • Gesobau is reviewing the decision and an appeal to the Higher Administrative Court is possible, as Berlin’s government has signaled no new refugee shelters for now.