THAT A single court decision can bring the entire zoning plan of Nicosia tumbling down is powerful evidence of an ailing and obsolete state apparatus, Euro MP candidate Christos Stylianides said yesterday.
“We need an overhaul of town planning procedures. We need to devise a system that works…other countries have done so, why not us? It’s not like we would be discovering Atlantis,” remarked Stylianides in comments at DISY headquarters in Nicosia.
The DISY deputy called for “a modernisation of the state” to bring Cyprus in line with European standards.
Stylianides blamed the recent decision by the Supreme Court, which annulled the Nicosia zoning plan on a technicality, on lack of action and a string of mistakes by successive governments.
The top court’s ruling now threatens to wreak havoc on the property situation in the capital, since the ensuing change in zoning policies can have a huge impact on the value of land. Moreover the change would wreck the financial plans of people who have tied up their cash in real estate investments.
“Millions and millions of euros are at stake. Everything is frozen. Thousands of people are affected, young couples are in limbo. Folks just don’t know what to expect from one day to the next,” Stylianides said.
The judgment means also that the zoning policy by default reverts to the old one, paving the way for previously protected areas to be built on.
But while everyone saw it coming, nothing was done to prevent the present debacle, charged Stylianides.
“The court’s decision was expected for three years now, but no action was taken to prevent people from being left in the lurch. The government, it seems, had no Plan B.”
He said the specific ruling should have come as no surprise, since it’s no secret that town planning procedures are riddled with problems, not to mention persistent allegations of corruption within the relevant department.
Meanwhile the government is scrambling for a way out of the conundrum, and the Interior Ministry has resorted to interim administrative measures, such as declaring a number of areas off-bounds to development. The ministry plans to appeal the court’s decision so to reinstate the zoning plan ASAP.
A crisis meeting is being held today between Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis, the Town Planning Council, the Scientific and Technical Chamber and mayors.
Sylikiotis has pledged an overhaul of the town planning system aimed at speeding up applications, instilling greater transparency and weeding out corruption. Before he can do that, however, he will need to address the current emergency.
