CSLKenny
TS Member
Interesting news article about EP's ambitions on the other side of the Rhine. Like Rulantica was, and the cable car is, very much a long term project I can't imagine we'll see anytime soon but nevertheless the Macks certainly seem to have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
Source Lahrer Zeitung
Europa-Park has big plans in Alsace: the company plans to build hotels and apartments on an area of 150 hectares near Diebolsheim. There is no concrete concept yet, but there is a loud "Bravo" from French politicians.
Europa-Park confirmed a corresponding report from the Alsatian internet portal rue89-strasbourg.com to our newspaper: There are considerations for a "long-term, tourist, economic and cultural" development in the border region. However, details - such as a schedule and cost plan - would not yet be available. "At the moment, the project is in an early phase of idea development and is therefore neither further specified in terms of content nor size," said park spokeswoman Diana Reichle on Tuesday.
As the location for the project called "Europa Vallé", (Europe Valley), the company has an area between the municipalities of Sundhausen and Diebolsheim in mind that is one and a half times the size of Europa-Park. According to research by French media, a leisure village, hotel and residential units as well as a "nature park" with regional products are planned.
According to rue89strasbourg.com, high-ranking politicians from structurally weak Alsace already wrote in a letter to company boss Michael Mack at the end of November, signalling their willingness to bring the project along. According to this, Jean-Marc Willer, President of the Erstein Association of Municipalities, described the project as "an extraordinary opportunity" that "fully supports the region".
Environmental regulations should not be an insurmountable hurdle, since the region is mainly used to grow grain. The farmers, on whose land the holiday complex is to be built, are not very enthusiastic. They criticize that they have been informed of the plans by the media and consider their existence to be threatened. The "Europa Vallé" is said to have already been the subject of a meeting of the Bas-Rhin prefecture. A representative of the agricultural sector, who has participated in the media, sees major changes coming to the region: "In addition to the 150 hectares of agricultural land, there will be environmental balances, a road and bicycle network and other infrastructure measures. The impact on agricultural holdings will be enormous . "
The planning area is located west of Rust, less than five kilometers as the crow flies from Europa-Park. In this context, the company's cable car plans are discussed again. When they were presented at the end of 2018, a holiday village was already being discussed as the "end station" to the left of the Rhine. As is well known, the new means of transport met with fierce resistance from conservationists who saw the sensitive areas of Taubergießen and Ile de Rhinau under threat, which is why the project was put on ice again. The plans for the "Europa Vallé", however, were intensively pursued after research by the Alsatian media.
The company from Rust is now waiting for the local elections in France for further steps, it says on the Internet portal. In two weeks, new councillors will be elected all over the country, which in turn will determine the new mayors. The current Rhinau city hall chief, Jean-Paul Roth, is in any case positive about the hotel construction plans, as he makes clear to the press representatives: "It will undoubtedly be something extraordinary." The main hope in Alsace is for an economic upswing and the creation of new jobs.
Obviously, Europa-Park is now increasingly focusing on Alsace as an expansion target: at the beginning of the year, the Mack owner's family announced plans to buy the Ollwiller castle and winery near Mulhouse. It is also certain that the multimedia subsidiary of the Europa-Park, Mack-Media, is planning to open a branch in Plobsheim. 50 jobs are to be created there.
Source Lahrer Zeitung