Reactions to new beach building ‘over the top’

Paphos municipality on Friday said reactions to the construction of a bar-restaurant on Sodap beach were unjustified, arguing that the project has all the necessary licenses.

The announcement came after reactions from parties and organised groups against the construction of the facility.

The Greens, Akel, the Chlorakas cultural environmental association and the Paphos Salvation Initiative are holding a protest on Saturday morning at the beach where the construction is taking place.

They are against the municipality’s interventions on the beach which they said are illegal, accusing the local authority of building the restaurant right on the water.

They also said that the cabinet decision allowing for deviations and intervention in the seashore protection zone was “a provocation and a great environmental scandal.”

The Paphos municipality said the total beach area is around 6,000m² while the building will cover around 400m² of which only 200m² affects the sandy area. The excavated rocks were already in a state of disintegration, it said, while construction followed the terrain’s line.

It also said all necessary licenses and permits for the construction have been issued while the opinion of locals and visitors was taken into consideration for the design of the building.

The municipality said that any reactions were “over the top to say the least.”

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