VISITORS to Ayiou Antoniou Street – also known as Bar Street – in Kato Paphos have been lamenting on what a dump the street has become, with one referring to it as a ‘sh** hole’.
Barry Austin arrived in Cyprus a week ago and expressed his shock to the Sunday Mail at how much Bar Street had deteriorated since his last visit a decade ago.
“I love Paphos and have been wanting to return for a holiday for years – this time I have brought my wife and two kids.
“I’m disgusted at the state of Bar Street, and can’t understand why the local authorities haven’t done more to keep it updated and clean and tidy.
“It’s a real sh** hole,” he said.
“I couldn’t let my kids go out on their own,” he said. “There’s a strip club, underage drinking, fighting and loutish behaviour. Everything seems to have gone out of control, and it looks so run down.”
Bar and club owners of the area are aware of the dire situation and have been concerned to know how to move forward. Following a summer season fraught with problems, Costas Arsinas, the President of the Bar and club owners of the street told the Sunday Mail that they had taken matters into their own hands.
“We decided to take action, as we need the backing of the authorities to solve the problems we’re facing. We are inviting the mayor of Paphos, the police, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, the district office and the tourism department of the chamber of commerce to meet with us, and listen to our suggestions. We have many ideas on how to improve matters,” he said.
The bar and club owners are set meet with the Mayor of Paphos Savvas Vergas to arrange a gathering of all the relevant authorities within the next seven days.
Arsinas stated that he preferred not to release details of the actions they will suggest, until after the meeting with authorities.
Although he did mention, “We are in desperate need of external and internal upgrades on large parts of the street, as well as a permanent uniformed police presence. I also think CCTV cameras will help to prevent incidents before they happen.’’
The president of the bars and clubs of Ayiou Antoniou Street is also the owner of the Robin Hood Pub, which has been operational for the last 14 years. He believes that constant negative publicity has had a severely adverse effect on his business.
He said, “This summer was the worst for business so far. But I believe the situation can still be turned around and the street can be as it was before, popular, vibrant and alive. It will be a nightlife street. We need to organise it and support each other, and it will be easy to bring people back to the area.”
Gina Ghillyer of Gina’s Place, a business on Ayiou Antoniou Street said,” I remember years ago the street was full of families from Cyprus and abroad, all enjoying the road and the atmosphere was fantastic. But now that has all changed.”
Ghillyer underlined the urgent need to give a facelift to the area.
“We all need to make a concerted effort,” she said. “I think we should go for the feel of an Italian piazza, with a decorative entrance to the street, so that people know where we are.” She added.
“We need public toilets and to generally improve the image of the area. I believe it can be done, but the authorities must do more.”
One holidaymaker said the area needed an upgrade, “There needs to be a lot of improvement work done here. The street is in a great position, but who would want to come here whilst it looks like this?”
Paphos’ Bar Street runs parallel to the newly upgraded seafront road, which has just undergone a multimillion euro upgrade.
Arsinas said, “We can make this road a place where the young and old can enjoy themselves side by side without any problems.”
He concluded, “I believe we need an expert to come and see the street and pinpoint all that needs to be done, this is one of the suggestions we will make to the authorities.”
