NICOSIA Municipality is fining citizens £50 for leaving plant pots on their doorsteps as part of its strategy to rid the city’s pavements of obstacles.
But the response to the measure has been one of disbelief from people who see the municipality drive as a moneymaking venture. One citizen asked why anyone would want to remove what little greenery there was from the city’s streets, while a municipal councillor found the fine too draconian.
The municipality is on the warpath against eyesores and obstructive objects on the streets of Nicosia. Since October 1, municipal officers have been on the lookout for a host of violations worthy of a £50 fine, including messy kiosk stalls parked on pavements.
However, some of the measures are seen as going too far. The local authority has outlawed the hanging of laundry on balconies facing the street, slapping a £50 fine on every violation. Now, households are being warned to remove plant pots placed on pavements that obstruct passage. Those who have been warned also face a £50 if they fail to comply.
Nicosia Mayor Michalakis Zampelas stood by the decision to penalise plant pot owners. “It’s very simple. We cannot discriminate if somebody is illegally putting things on the pavement. We have to report it. This is not a way to collect money, or punish people; it’s a way of finding solutions to illegalities,” he said.
Zampelas gave an example: “If the pavement is one metre wide and two plant pots are in the way, nobody can walk through. We are trying to allow people to move freely.”
The mayor said few fines had been given out so far as the instructions were to warn people first, and only after that, start imposing the fines.
Asked whether municipal officers might be acting overzealously in their interpretation of the rules, he replied: “The people authorised by the municipality have been trained and know exactly what they are doing. If you have your plant pot outside the door, it’s not illegal. They are looking for obstructions to pedestrians.”
Municipal Councillor Stelios Kolokasides of the Green Party had a different point of view. He explained that Zampelas had assigned officials to different areas of Nicosia and ordered them to go and impose fines where violations existed.
“Unfortunately, Mr Zampelas is following a tactic I don’t agree with. We agreed in the municipal council to clean up and beautify the city. But these penalties are being used without logic,” he said.
Kolokasides asked the point of removing plant pots from pavements that wouldn’t even fit a pedestrian to walk past. “Does that deserve a fine?” he asked.
The city councillor highlighted the need to have measured order: “Yes, we need to have order but we also need to use logic.”
He referred to other European cities like Berlin where the streets were lined with souvenir shops and their products. “Here, we are fining people £50 for displaying postcards on the street. Berlin was full of them and it looked fine.”
“Ledra Street has got lots of buildings converted into one-room flats. Tenants spend their time sitting in Eleftheria Square because there’s nowhere else to go. And instead of filling Ledra and Onasagorou Street with plants, we are taking them away.”
One elderly lady, living on Galip Street in old Nicosia, said she would never remove her plants perched outside her door, no matter who was asking.
“I want my plants here, I don’t agree with it. What do they do that is so wrong? I don’t accept it. Even if God, whom I believe in faithfully, came down and told me to move them, I wouldn’t do it,” said Despina Nicou.
“It makes the place prettier, greener. Why did we vote him (Zampelas) in, to take our plants away?” she asked.
“The plant does no harm, they should clip that tree over there which makes such a mess everyday,” she said, pointing to a large tree opposite. A municipal cleaner, who was there using a tattered straw broom to collect the shedding leaves, agreed that the tree created a mess.
“What’s right is right. My plants harm no one, I won’t move them.”
Kolokasides argued that more effort should be made to bring people back to the old town, and less on getting rid of greenery. “I went to Tuscany in Italy last summer where I saw old towns, beautifully preserved with thousands of people there to see the culture and nice settings.”
“The only thing Nicosia has to offer is the old town, not the supermarkets. But the offices on Ledra are empty. We bring French and German experts but refuse to take their advice on how to improve things and bring people back,” he added.
