TEMPERS flared yesterday over Nicosia Council’s decision to grant a building permit for Archbishop Chrysostomos’ controversial huge cathedral in the heart of Nicosia’s old centre, with the Archbishop calling opponents politically-motivated “cry-babies”.
At the same time, the chairman of the council’s planning permission committee insisted that, contrary to “misinformation” that had been circulated, the Church would have to incorporate a range of technical comments and proposals into the project’s plans before it could go ahead. Nicosia’s mayor, meanwhile, insisted that in practice, critics would have to rely on the Church’s goodwill for any changes made to the plans.
The initial plans for a 26-metre high cathedral were scaled down to 23 metres, following their first rejection by the municipality’s aesthetics committee. It is designed to fit between 600 and 800 churchgoers, while underground parking will be available for 150 cars.
Opponents to the cathedral project – some of whom protested and heckled councillors during Tuesday’s meeting – have long argued that the planned structure would increase the load on an already heavily burdened area from an environmental and structural point of view – also greatly adding to traffic – and would alter its aesthetic, cultural and historic character.
Dismissing such criticism, Archbishop Chrysostomos said yesterday that the new cathedral was “a victory for Nicosia” and will be “a jewel in Nicosia’s crown”.
“Nicosia wants a cathedral – everyone should understand that. I like to believe that the whole problem was politically-motivated. Don’t tell me that those kids who were there at the town hall shouting know better than I or the architect if the church is Byzantine or not. Don’t tell me that those cry-babies who were there know better than I do,” he said.
Referring to the protestors as members of EDON (AKEL’s youth movement), Chrysostomos said: “The kids were wound up and sent there, in the same way that a few self-appointed middlemen get wound up and then tell us what to do.”
Commenting on this statement, Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou said that she found it “especially disappointing” that there was an attempt to equate opposition to the project with political opposition.
She said that she had personally met with the Archbishop when he first expressed an interest in building a new cathedral, and the council “showed every inclination to co-operate, but at that time he was talking about a small church, only slightly bigger than Saint John’s Church.”
Chrysostomos denied suggestions that he had shifted positions between initially broaching the subject with Nicosia Municipality and submitting the first plans.
“We did not change a thing. The internal dimensions of the cathedral are 14 metres wide and 28 metres long. It is much smaller than the church in Pallouriotissa. I gave these dimensions to the architect, who wanted to add a few bits and bobs like the bell-towers and various other things, which led to it growing somewhat bigger than the net width and length I had in mind.”
Doubts have been raised whether the council’s decision allows for the initial plans to be changed. Nicos Nouris, DISY councillor and chairman of the Planning Permission Committee, said yesterday that a margin exists for changing the plans’ provisions, as planning permission was granted on the basis of a list of submissions and written comments from various interested parties, such as the state’s Town Planning Department and Department of Antiquities.
“Basically, the Council approved (on Tuesday) the granting of planning permission, provided most of those comments and conditions are implemented. Those conditions will form an integral part of the planning permission, a copy of which the project engineer will receive, and he will be expected to revert to Nicosia Council with amended plans on the basis of consultation so that construction of the cathedral can proceed,” Nouris said.
The first precondition is that the archaeological excavations must be completed, and Nouris said that if there is any kind of find, the terms of the permit clearly allow for a full reassessment of the project, including possible new stipulations if the underground car-park cannot be created.
“So things are crystal clear, and on certain points there has been misinformation. I think that the majority of the council gave very clear instructions to the project engineers regarding the need to amend and improve the particular substructure before its final decision can be implemented.”
Mavrou was not so sure. “Formally, the decision grants permission while asking for certain amendments to the plans. But in practice, it is very difficult to monitor, measure and enforce compliance.”
Mavrou said that the wording of the council’s decision refers to the granting of permission without risk assessment, and invites the architect and project engineer to amend the plans in view of various responses and views via consultation with the council services.
“But the council services have been consulting for the last three years. They have put forward specific comments and proposals, but the only thing we have seen over three years is that the height of the structure has been reduced slightly, and nothing else.”
In practice, therefore, the council “clearly depends on the Church’s goodwill”, she said.
