A city garden is being created on Liebfrauenplatz square

A small city garden will soon be created on Liebfrauenplatz in Bocholt - with a pavilion, various seating options, a water feature and playground equipment. The 350 square metre "oasis of nature", which corresponds to about one and a half tennis courts, will invite passers-by and children to linger and play, thus strengthening the quality of stay in Bocholt's city centre.

Part of the car park will be converted for the Stadtgarten. The conversion work will start on 6 November. The Stadtgarten is to be completed before the end of the year. The Entsorgungs- und Servicebetrieb Bocholt (ESB) is responsible for planning and implementation.

The garden-like ambience in the city garden will be created by herbaceous perennials and a grass bed, which will also promote biodiversity. The plant beds are to offer visitors suggestions for ecologically high-quality design of private gardens as sample plantings. A water feature will be placed in the grass bed. Children can play in it, and it is a source of water for animals.

In the play area, children can climb, slide and swing on equipment, and the very young can have fun in the sandbox. While shopping or having lunch, take a break or a snack, let your mind wander, have a chat - the Stadtgarten will be an ideal place for this in the future. Small events such as lectures or swap meets are also conceivable there. "The new city garden at Liebfrauenplatz will improve the quality of life and stay in Bocholt's city centre, the heart of our city," says Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff. "It will be a place where people, young and old, can meet, stay and relax."

Positive experience

The city of Bocholt already had positive experiences with a "green" play point at Liebfrauenplatz last year, in the course of the 800th anniversary celebration with the campaign "Gardens in the City". The campaign was so well received by the public, especially by families with small children, that the play point, which was initially planned for a few weeks, remained in place for the entire summer of 2022.

At present, Liebfrauenplatz is mainly used as a car park. Demands for an upgrading of the square were repeatedly voiced in the course of surveys on the city centre and mobility concept. The construction of the city garden is now a first step towards the transformation of the square. The city garden at Liebfrauenplatz is initially planned for the coming years there.

Funding

The city of Bocholt is receiving financial support of 90,000 euros through subsidies from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from the "Immediate Programme to Strengthen Our Inner Cities and Centres of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia". The city's own contribution is 10,000 euros.

Parking

Two rows of parking spaces on Liebfrauenplatz will no longer be available. The parking spaces will be absorbed by the nearby multi-storey car park "Am Nähkasten". The newly renovated, modern multi-storey car park with barrier-free parking spaces on a total of ten floors can be accessed via "Königstraße" and the "Südmauer".

Details of the Stadtgarten project

• Area: approx. 350 square metres (one and a half tennis courts)
• Costs: approx. 100,000 euros
  Funding: 90,000 euros from the programme "Immediate Programme to Strengthen Our Inner Cities and Centres of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia", remainder municipal contribution
• Start of construction: 6 November, commissioning this year (probably December)
• Pavilion, benches, tables
• Playground equipment
• Water feature
• Trees and beds with perennials, shrubs and grasses