Bavarian court blocks construction of new Allgäu chairlift over missing EU environmental review
The Augsburg Administrative Court has temporarily halted the construction of the Scheidtobelbahn chairlift near Oberstdorf, pending a full review of whether the project’s exemption from an environmental impact assessment complies with European law.
The court decision
In an emergency procedure, the Augsburg Administrative Court issued a preliminary injunction stopping all construction work on the new Scheidtobelbahn chairlift at Fellhorn. The court stressed that this is not a final ruling on the permit’s legality, but that a main hearing must determine whether the approval meets EU-level requirements.
This decision does not yet represent a final statement on the lawfulness of the gondola project permit.
Legal background
The project is the first to be approved under Bavaria’s third Modernization Act, which aims to cut red tape and waives mandatory environmental impact assessments for certain construction projects. The Oberallgäu district office argued that because the lift follows the same route as the existing one, and the 1,500‑meter air‑line limit for cableways is not exceeded, no full environmental review was required. The new lift would be 320 meters longer due to moved top and bottom stations.
Separate rulings
A few weeks earlier, the same court rejected an emergency motion against the piste construction works. The judges found that those works did not violate the Alpine Convention’s Soil Protection Protocol, nor the habitat, species, or landscape protection directives.
What comes next
The judges concluded that the question of whether the exemption from an environmental impact assessment complies with European regulations and the case law of the European Court of Justice is too complex to be settled in fast‑track proceedings. A full legal examination now lies ahead. The project has also faced repeated criticism from the opposition in the Bavarian state parliament.
