Erfurt (dpa/th) – A group of cities around Suhl and the city of Eisenach will in future be given the status of a regional center – this is associated with a number of functions for the respective region. That is what the new state development program that the cabinet decided on Tuesday provides for, said Infrastructure Minister Susanna Karawanskij (left) in Erfurt. So far, only Erfurt, Jena and Gera have the status of regional centers.

The centers should radiate within the region with municipal offers in the areas of culture, sport, social affairs and education, they thus have a central function for their surrounding area.

The new regional center of southern Thuringia should be formed from the cities of Suhl, Oberhof, Zella-Mehlis and Schleusingen. Suhl should remain an independent city. Eisenach had relinquished its rank as an independent city, mainly because of tight municipal finances, and had entered the Wartburg district. With the status as a regional center, the position of the city in western Thuringia in state planning is now being upgraded again.

The local political spokesman for the Left Group, Sascha Bilay, described it as not helpful from the point of view of financial strength that Suhl should remain a district-free city. As the main center he broke Nordhausen for northern Thuringia into the conversation.

According to Karawanskij, the state development program includes ten new basic centers. These are the communities of Am Ettersberg, Wachenburg, Drei Gleichen, Föritztal, Georgenthal, Grammetal, Harztor, Nessetal, Nobitz and Unterwellenborn. They had formed anew in recent years and by 2035 they would have the minimum number of around 6,000 inhabitants required for basic centers.

The next phase of the state development program, which has an impact on municipalities, citizens and the economy, is an extensive consultation and participation process. The basis for state planning should then probably apply at the beginning of 2024, it said.

According to the ministry, the program does not have to be approved by the state parliament, but parliament will issue an opinion on it.