Berliners to be consulted on Tempelhof plans

Projects for old airield to go online

Berlin residents will now be able to have their say about development around Tempelhof, Berlin's one-time airport.

The original plans were voted out by a referendum in May but in November a variety of interactive projects will go online, for the public's suggestions and ideas. It is then hoped that these will be compiled into a new project which should be ready by mid-2015. The development that was voted out in the May referendum included three residential housing areas, a national library, a metro stop, shops, schools and a swimming pool. The most unpopular parts of the plan were the residential areas.

Officially the old airfield has been a park since 2009. The airport – built between 1936-1941 and once Europe's third busiest – was officially closed at the end of 2008 and the terminal buildings have been used for trade fairs and festivals.

One of the suggestions now being put forward by Tempelhof Projekt GmbH, the company that manages the old airport site, is for a new public square on the top of the old airport building. The roof was originally designed to support 80,000 people for air display and demonstrations. Tempelhof's most historic moment was when it became the centre of the Berlin airlift in 1948.