Overview
- The Brühl city council postponed a planned vote to start a Bauleitverfahren for the Phantasialand expansion, leaving the project in procedural limbo until the summer.
- Phantasialand has proposed building an aquapark, a hotel resort and a large theatre/concert hall on roughly 14 hectares near the Ententeich nature reserve, which the company says should be examined through the established planning process.
- Opponents led by Netzwerk NSG Ententeich say the site includes an about 80‑year‑old mixed beech forest, a sink with a lake and wetland classified as a catalogued biotope, and they warn construction would remove and seal that habitat.
- The opposition network called the postponement a partial victory and said it will prepare a Bürgerbegehren if the council approves a Bebauungsplan, noting a successful petition would need at least 20% of eligible voters to block the plan for two years.
- Phantasialand criticized the delay and urged the council to resume the development‑plan procedure quickly, while the pause means years of technical studies, public hearings and legal steps remain the likely next phase if planning restarts.