An Administrative Court has permanently blocked construction of a 3.7MW solar farm on the boundary of Latsia-Geri municipality, finding that the project risks causing irreversible environmental damage.
The court issued a permanent injunction on May 19, suspending the building permit granted by the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation (DLGO) in 2024 to a company seeking to install the solar park. The injunction will remain in force until the underlying legal challenge is heard.
Latsia-Geri municipality and four residents had filed the challenge, arguing the DLGO’s decision was unlawful. The four residents are directly affected parties whose properties border the development site.
Judge Lakis Christodoulou said he gave serious weight to the municipal secretary’s submission that the development adjoins a residential zone and homes, and that its consequences would adversely affect the natural environment and ecological balance of the area, including local fauna and flora, causing irreversible damage if construction was not stopped immediately.
The judge also noted that Latsia-Geri municipality had been receiving daily complaints from residents about the impact on their quality of life.
Central to the ruling was a sworn statement from a municipal technical officer, who identified several sources of irreversible on-site harm: ground compaction works using heavy machinery, construction within the five-metre protection zone of a registered watercourse, and the clearing of vegetation on neighbouring plots to create a firebreak of at least 15 metres around the perimeter of the development.
A further sworn statement from a municipal officer warned that the works would negatively affect migratory birds and local flora through the radiation zone created by the panels and the increased thermal load generated by the installation’s large surface area. The fencing required for a development of this scale, the officer added, would also block wildlife movement and cause visual disruption.
The court found there was strong evidence that irreversible environmental harm would result if the permit decision were later found to be unlawful. Weighing the balance of convenience against the public interest, which the respondents had not argued would be affected, the judge concluded the injunction should be made permanent pending the hearing of the case.