The pressure to act was enormous when the development plan was initially discussed in the various committees in 1980. In the face of the serious tendency towards migration that local businesses were showing, the authorities saw themselves forced — as is still the case today  — to offer additional commercial space to maintain and create jobs.  
As a result, high expectations were placed on the new commercial zone: The intention behind "Entenbad" more than anything else was to offer new opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises that were bursting at the seams in their established premises, or had sometimes come into conflict with residential development schemes in their area. There is "enough space for 1500 new jobs," stated one of the headlines in the local press. Later, the situation with job density was put into perspective, with around 60 jobs per hectare being talked about. The assumption was that attractive land would be snapped up quickly due to its favourable location close to transport links on the new B 317 road.
Companies from a wide range of industries and sectors have found a new or have their first location in Lörrach: Skilled trades, manufacturing companies, service providers, logistics and distribution centres and the wholesale trade and car dealers have found a home here. Retail and other large-scale trading operations were excluded from the development plan because it was the only way of achieving the goal of securing space for skilled trades and manufacturing companies.
During the discussion at the time about "Entenbad", and especially when it came to the planned relocation of the company Raymond to "Entenbad", an impairment in the quality of life in Hauingen was feared. The issue here was mainly one of expected noise emissions, an increase in commercial traffic in the centre and the loss of village character and detriment to the overall appearance at the entrance to the village. The existing image that Hauingen had of itself as a village without industry needed to be rethought and the emerging commercial zone integrated into village life.
The commercial zone has been in continuous development since the first topping-out ceremony in 1986: new companies have moved in, some companies have already expanded their production premises and others have chosen to vacate the premises they had there.
The commercial zones between the LS 138 and the A 317 covers 11.6 hectares, excluding space taken up by dedicated thoroughfares. Of this, 5.2 hectares are located in Brombacher and 6.4 hectares in the local subdistrict of Hauinger. The relocation of the L 138 enlarges the expansion area that makes up "Entenbad-Ost", which is initially scheduled for commercial enterprises so that the new central hospital serving the district of Lörrach can be built here in the next few years.

How do local companies rate the location?

All of them highlighted the excellent direct transport links between 
"Entenbad" and the main A 317. This makes the paths to customers and suppliers in Lörrach and Wiesental short. Also, it is only a few minutes’ drive to the motorway, thus making EuroAirport, France and Switzerland quickly accessible.

The planning stage for the commercial zone already clearly showed that the new through road would be one of the central location factors, although, at the time, it was not yet foreseeable when the road would actually be completed.

As late as in May 1990, "Entenbad" could still only be accessed over the L 138 state road:

It was only in 1991 when the connection between the L 138 and the B 317 was reopened that a temporary solution was found.

Completion of the new route took place in 1994.

In July 2015, the municipal council voted in the "Entenbad East" development plan for the planned expansion of the commercial area in the form of a statute.

The development measures were started in 2016:

In October 2016, however, Lörrach Town Council decided to propose the two locations (Entenbad-Ost and EntenbadNord) to the district as potential locations for the construction of a new central hospital.
In a first step, the L 138 will be moved to the north and a roundabout built. The connection to the B 317 and an additional urban train station are planned.
 

The commercial space development concept makes the following recommendations for the neighbouring commercial zone in "Entenbad":

•      Maintaining and safeguarding the existing structure of use for small businesses, skilled trades and wholesale operations
•      Examination of the intended use of underused areas by private landowners

Contact: