Exceeding building coefficients, as well as erecting parts of buildings on private land not acquired by the two churches that proceeded with illegal installations for the construction of the monastery and other areas, even within the Natura 2000 area, have been identified by the Department of Town Planning during the examination of the application submitted for the construction of a building with cells and auxiliary spaces in the hermitage of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi.
It is noted that two applications have been submitted, one for the licensing of the buildings that constitute the Monastery and the second for the registration and construction of the road leading to it.
The provincial town planning department of Nicosia received an application for the buildings on 12/9/2022. An on-site visit followed, during which it was found that the buildings had already been erected.
This action led the provincial administration of Nicosia to take measures.
At this stage, the application is being examined, while the Department of Environment has given positive opinions to the Department of Town Planning.
However, no decision will be made unless the road is registered first. So far, the relevant permits have not been issued.
The request for the registration of the road leading to the monastery is pending in the provincial administration of Nicosia.
The Department of Town Planning and the provincial administration decided to proceed with the registration process of the road by widening it for safety reasons, due to the traffic observed on weekends, reasons which no longer exist after the recent events.
After the road was surveyed by a surveyor, consents were given by the landowners, and where expropriation is required, it would be carried out to complete the registration work.
A part of the road passes through the Residential Zone (H3) of the community, while the remaining part passes through the Rural Zone (G3) and the Protection Zone (Z1).
It is noted that based on the application submitted to the Department of Town Planning, the land parcels belong to the churches of Saint Habakkuk and Saint Porphyrius, as well as to Saint Nicholas, overseen by Archimandrite Nektarios Georgiou.
The Department of Environment clarified that, in order to register and widen the existing road, it is necessary for the Community Council to undertake the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment study and submit Form 7, and for them to be evaluated and approved by the Competent Environmental Authority, to ensure that the construction works for the improvement/widening of the road will not have negative impacts on the areas of the Natura 2000 Network.
However, the Department of Environment, in a letter dated 5/5/2023, emphasized that in case the request for the registration of the road refers to the registration of the existing road without widening, it does not object and does not require the preparation of studies.
In a letter dated 30/5/2023, the Game and Fauna Service stated that it does not favor the registration of roads passing through Nature Protection areas, as it does not wish to create conditions encouraging residential development in those areas.
