AKAMAS RESIDENTS who choose to embrace a government plan to protect the peninsular will be the first to benefit, Agriculture Minister Photis Photiou has said.
The minister was speaking after a meeting on Tuesday afternoon to present the plan to representatives from the Akamas Community Councils.
A ministerial committee will meet on Saturday to discuss any outstanding matters and issues brought up by community leaders, he added.
Photiou said there were issues the affected communities had brought up that could not be changed or altered because doing so would alter the entire philosophy behind the plan.
“This plan, this proposal that has been discussed by the Cabinet, is a balanced proposal and takes into consideration the concerns of these people, as well as the protection of the environment,” said Photiou.
Despite certain community residents’ furious claims it will have disastrous effects on their communities, the government has repeatedly maintained its plan brings out the best in the area and accommodates the region’s two greatest concerns, that of environmental protection and that of development.
According to the plan, which was presented to the media last week, the villages in the Akamas area will not be allowed to expand to the west of their communities. These include Kathikas, Arodes, Droushia and Neo Chorio as well as Inia, the village that will be the worst affected as the entire community is located in the west.
Nevertheless Photiou said there were certain issues that had been cleared up during the meeting and stressed dialogue between both sides would continue.
In the meantime the minister promised Inia community leader Savvas Charalambous that he would visit the village shortly to inform the residents in person about the contents of the plan.
Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis explained to locals what steps had been taken to revise the town planning zones and added that the government would wait for any objections to be submitted. He said these objections could be made by community councils or affected individuals and would then be examined by a committee.
Based on Cypriot law, an eight-month period is given for everybody opposed to the plan to voice their concerns, before it is once again put before the Cabinet for final approval. A review will also take place every five years.
The long overdue plan, aimed at putting an end to the debate over arguably the most pristine region in Cyprus, includes a number of measures that will be introduced to harmonise Cyprus with EU directives regarding specific Natura 2000 sites and declaring the Akamas area a national park. In addition, the plan will also provide compensatory measures to regional communities affected by its implementation.
The entire project, which will cost the government more than £16 million, includes the imposition of strict controls on development, based on environmental, architectural and aesthetic aspects, the improvement of the road network connecting the village communities, as well as giving landowners in the area state land in other areas of the Republic worth £140 million.
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