The government aims to publish the Akamas development before the end of its term.
During a meeting at the Presidential Palace on Monday, under President Anastasiades, with the participation of the competent Ministers of Interior and Agriculture, as well as of other officials from the competent Authorities, the decisions of the Environmental Authority were placed on the table, as well as the legally binding conditions set by its opinion.
Faced with the possibility of a deadlock, President Anastasiades raised the question of finding ways to bypass the Environmental Authority’s opinion. He specifically asked whether the Republic of Cyprus can explain to the European Commission that properties have been frozen for more than 40 years while requesting a right to development for the communities with the least consequences on the environment.
The President made the suggestion after seeing the different approaches to the issue by the two competent Ministers. On the one hand, the Agriculture Minister believes that the Environmental Authority correctly reversed the relevant plans and on the other hand, the Interior Minister said that the Environmental Authority does not take into consideration the financial and social dimensions of the issue.
The director of the Department of Town Planning and Housing said the opinion of the Environment Department is binding and no provisions which do not align with the conditions set would be accepted.
He proposed, however, that the Town Planning Council reviews the provisions of the Akamas development plan, in order to proceed with adjustments of the town-planning zones that do not go against the Environment Department’s recommendations.
The proposals will be submitted to the Environment Department within one month and then the Authority will have another month to make public its final opinion.