Far too much bureaucracy and what needs to be done – discussion at the otto heil academy in bad kissingen

The construction industry and the skilled trades are groaning under the increasing bureaucracy, because more and more laws and regulations are tying up personnel resources and causing enormous costs. Nevertheless, reducing bureaucracy is a hot topic. At this year’s new year’s talk at the otto heil academy, this was the subject of a heated discussion with walter nussel, the bavarian state government’s commissioner for bureaucracy reduction.

In numerous speeches from the audience, it became clear that we are overburdening ourselves with regulations. The managing director of the construction company otto heil, peter heil, criticized in particular the handling of excavated soil, which had to be sampled at great expense and classified as waste and disposed of in landfills even in the case of a naturally elevated pollutant content. As a result, the costs for basements, underground garages and the like had exploded.

Walter nussel also saw a great urgency here. Together with experts, he has drawn up a backfilling guide to make it easier to deal with excavated soil.

One of walter nussel’s basic demands is the introduction of a practice check, which checks laws in advance for practicability and compliance effort. "We often only debate the content of laws", according to walter nussel "without thinking about how to use it. In the past, the bavarian senate acted as an early warning system; today, we have to bring the associations directly to the table in order to make the implementation sensible."

But a social rethink was also called for. The call for (more and more) new regulations comes quickly when it is a matter of one’s own concern. "When the neighbor is building, people used to ask: can i help you?? Today it is often called: what you build?! I will help you!", presenter nikola renner put it succinctly.

The rigid adherence to detailed regulations often blocks the way for constructive solutions and delays decisions.

District administrator thomas bold added that we try to safeguard ourselves through expert opinions, regulations and laws. Ultimately, however, more of the courage to take personal responsibility should be developed again.

Member of the provincial parliament sandro kirchner urged to use common sense. He referred specifically to the draft law on land use proposed by the greens in the bavarian state parliament, which stipulates in concrete terms how much land a municipality is allowed to use per year. "Of course, land must be used sensibly and sparingly, but the same rigid standards cannot be applied to cities and rural communities.", he argued. "What might work in a city cuts into a rural community’s development for years", explained sandro kirchner in the round.