THE RENOVATION of old houses in central Nicosia has long been a topic that mayoral candidates have used to attract voters in their electoral manifesto.
Year after year, promises are made that changes are on their way and that a new era is underway for the old town. But year after year the situation has remained largely unchanged.
Only two weeks ago, there was another fire, to add to the one two months ago, of a house in Pendadactylou Street in an old carpenter’s warehouse.
Due to the proximity of the old homes with one another, their wooden beams, the old wiring, and the prevalence of illegal unsafe structures, house fires are a constant fear in old Nicosia.
Numerous residences have burnt in the old city in recent years and many remain charred skeletons.
Walking through the streets of the old town, one can see for oneself the decrepit state of many buildings, which could collapse onto adjacent buildings or onto the street at any time.
Apart from the poor living conditions and danger that the current situation poses, the old part of the walled city is becoming a ghetto for low-paid foreigners.
With new Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou barely six months into her term, questions are being asked whether her promises for a revamp of the old town will be carried out.
“The situation can be dated back to 1974, it is not something new so there needs to be a great effort in order to finally improve the condition,” Mavrou said, acknowledging the extent of the problem.
The mayor insists that the Municipality has already taken major steps in the right direction.
“Already a project on improving the general structure of the area starting from the Taktakalas region into the old town will begin very soon, while we are listening to offers about lighting in the area, something that we felt desperately needed improving. It should also be said that we have secured EU funding for these projects, something that is very encouraging,” she told the Sunday Mail.
The main aim for Nicosia Municipality is to attract a number of new citizens to invest in the area, something that would result in improving living conditions.
“What we want is to give the right incentives for families and shop-owners to move into the area, which has great potential. It is not something easy but we already have examples of students and young professionals moving in,” Mavrou added.
Based on the incentives, the government subsidises nearly half the renovation costs. Once residents buy property in the centre of the capital and get all the necessary permits and pay 60 per cent of the renovation costs, the Nicosia Municipality covers the remaining 40 per cent.
But one homeowner in the old city disagreed with Mavrou’s comments that the situation had improved, saying that getting the permits for a house in the old town was a struggle in itself.
The woman bought a house in the area three years ago and she is still waiting for the relevant permits in order to start works to renovate the building.
“I bought the house in May 2004, a beautiful 1920s house in old Nicosia near to Ledra Street. It is a listed building that I planned to renovate,” she said.
“It has just turned into a bureaucratic nightmare to be honest. Nobody in the municipality has been helpful, I have called them up so many times but have got nowhere. I simply don’t trust them any more.”
According to the woman, her situation was an example of where the authorities were going wrong.
“I could have easily given up on a number of occasions, I know people in my situation that have done so. It was the easy way out, just putting a few windows on the place and renting it out to foreigners who are willing to live there. This is not the right way to encourage people to move into the old town, I really feel that they don’t want me to move in,” she added.
According to Agni Petridou, Chief Municipal Architect, the fires and bad situation of some houses should not deter people from buying in the area.
“There are quite a few people buying and renovating the houses. The reason why many of them have burnt is maybe because they are old carpenters’ warehouses. There are grants given for their renovation,” she said. “The package of incentives could also include up to 40 per cent of the renovation costs, the transfer of development rights as well as tax exemptions. These incentives are only possible when we are dealing with listed buildings though.”
Petridou added that a Commissioner has recently been appointed to deal with grant applications, demonstrating that the municipality was not just handing out money, there was a coherent strategy within European legislation behind the incentive schemes.
With more pubs and nightspots cropping up throughout the walled city of Nicosia taking advantage of the low property prices, many residents have accused the municipality of lax regulation for commercial centres such as nightclubs, which they say leads to a noisy environment that discourages new families from moving in.
Mavrou did admit that this and other aspects of the old town could definitely be improved upon.
“We have to take measures against illegal uses of these buildings, some nightclubs are extremely noisy and annoying to the locals, we will be looking into how to improve on this,” she said. “Other things as well, such as parking controls, we are looking into the issue of giving residency permits for parking, as happens in some cities in the UK. In addition to this, the old town needs to be cleaned out, this is extremely important and we can see this. But in general, I think we are on a good road.”
