Appeal from the Lord Mayor - We can only overcome the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences by working together

Compliance with legal regulations and health protection measures

Dear businesses in Radebeul,

Business promotion is always a very important concern for the city of Radebeul, and this year it is particularly so. That is why, following the lockdown in spring, the city council launched "Radebeuler LebensArt", a comprehensive interdepartmental programme involving many different stakeholders to promote artists, tradespeople, retailers, restaurateurs and winegrowers. In addition, many other supporting measures were implemented for direct promotion, such as the suspension of the special user fee, the creation of an image video for Radebeul's tradespeople, the Kauf-Lokal campaign and support with printing costs and decorations during the Christmas period. It was also important to us to organise the wine festival in a different form and to establish the monthly fresh produce market on Bahnhofstrasse. These are all measures that - in my opinion - clearly show how important the active support of our business community is to us and which are unrivalled in comparison to similarly sized cities. We have received a very positive response both regionally and nationally, especially from you as the people affected.

Despite all the measures, it was and still is particularly important to maintain a good balance between protecting health and our economic interests. In the summer, we succeeded in doing this by implementing and adhering to hygiene concepts. Now, in the autumn and winter months, the infection situation has changed significantly, meaning that events of all kinds are currently not possible. The current legal situation regarding Sundays open for business is clear and leaves no room for discretion for local authorities. As a result, the town of Radebeul has unfortunately had to cancel both the Christmas market and the associated open Sunday. The legal situation (Saxon Shop Opening Act and the associated more recent case law) expressly stipulates that a special occasion must be formative in order to attract visitors. It even requires forecasts to be made as to how many visitors the event will attract and emphasises that economic interests must not be taken as the basis for the decision to open for business on Sundays. This special occasion must also attract large numbers of visitors and not be a simple weekly market or similar. A Sunday open for business is only an "addition" to this special occasion. This is contrary to the current situation, in which gatherings should be avoided for reasons of infection control. Even more so, events that attract streams of visitors should not be created.

In the interests of us all, I therefore appeal to you as traders and restaurateurs to act responsibly and with foresight. Among other things, out-of-home sales by restaurateurs offer you the opportunity to compensate for part of your loss of turnover, even in the pandemic situation. However, this must not lead to Christmas market-like situations with crowds of people. In the worst case scenario, this would quickly lead to total bans, which would affect all traders and restaurateurs in Radebeul. The responsibility for this lies in your hands as a provider. I ask you to fulfil this responsibility and consistently prevent conglomerations and gatherings.

In direct discussions with retailers, possible options for extending shop opening hours - independent of Sunday shopping - were sought. The current Shop Closing Hours Act allows shops to open daily from Monday to Saturday until 10 p.m. without additional authorisation requirements. The Radebeul Trail of Lights provides an appropriate framework for this. However, compliance with the legal regulations and the implementation of health protection measures should be an obligation for all of us.

As already mentioned, the "Radebeuler LebensArt" is a model that has been very well received by both businesses and citizens. That's why we want to build on this next spring and give people hope and joie de vivre again. We are already looking forward to this and are once again counting on your support.

During the Advent season, let us work together to find a balance between protecting health and our economic interests - each in our own responsibility.

Despite all the demands and tensions at home, I wish you a peaceful Advent season and a wonderful Christmas.

Yours sincerely

Bert Wendsche

Lord Mayor