Not even one tall building within Nicosia’s walled city should be given construction permit since this is an area of special character that has to be protected.
This is what the Environmental Movement of Cyprus said in a statement on Wednesday following the insistence by the Interior Ministry for a town planning permit to be granted for a 10-storey building in Kinyras Street.
This is a proposal opposed by councillors, citizens of the area and the capital’s technical chamber ETEK.
Specifically, Nicosia municipal council has twice, by overwhelming majority, rejected the developer’s application for such a town planning permit.
The rationale was that if it gave the go-ahead it would set a dangerous precedent, opening the way for more developments in other areas of special character.
The Movement also pointed out that the mistake made in coastal Limassol -thanks to those who benefited from the government’s naturalization plan – should not be repeated in Nicosia.
Especially, they added, all around the old town which has been designated as a Special Character Area. Apart from visual aesthetics, there are dozens of other reasons for not constructing towers there, they added.
To begin with, this would create traffic and accessibility problems, along with lack of parking spaces, sewerage, waste collection, water and electricity supply ones.
Moreover, the argued that construction of tall buildings – which must be user-friendly – should only be carried out in specially selected new areas.
And only after environmental studies and ones on how vehicle traffic will be affected in the entire area have been carried out.
