reinsehlen camp was part of a total of 4,600 hectares of "red areas" (named after the colour used on the maps in the sla), in which military training was allowed all year. only after the fall of the berlin wall, in 1990, the british started to refrain from training during the region's peak tourist season, the period when the heather blooms. on 17 october 1991, german minister of defence gerhard stoltenberg and british secretary of defence tom king signed an understanding for a phased end to training in the soltau-lüneburg area by 1994. the sla finally lapsed on 1 july 1994 and the british forces left reinsehlen.