The green light for the construction of the golf course is expected to be given by the state services in an area where the company in question has ended up and where, according to the information, there is no reason to refuse the license.
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The decades-long efforts of Ayia Napa Forest Golf Ltd for the creation of a golf course in the province of Famagusta are based on a relevant decision of the Council of Ministers on 16/2/2005 for the creation of 14 golf courses in our country, twelve in Paphos-Limassol, one in Larnaca and one in the province of Famagusta. Today in our country, four golf course facilities are in full operation, all in the province of Paphos (two in Kouklia, one in Paphos and one in Tsada), while the procedures and works for the other permits that have been approved are in progress.
Ideal location in the Municipality of Paralimni
After efforts to find an ideal area, the company seems to have reached the area of "Agioi Saranda", "Mana tou Nero" and "Arkakouthkia", in the Municipality of Paralimni, an area in which the construction of the project is expected to have the least environmental and social impact. reactions. The company submitted on 11/5/2020 a new application for the lease of state forest land concerning state forest land in the Municipality of Paralimni, with a total area of 771.148 square meters.
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The company may apply for an exchange of private with state forest land and the area that can be leased to the company may only apply to the area of the golf course. Also, the possibility is open for the company to request from the cadastral department the lease of a small area of state (Halitiki) Land, for purposes of access and amalgamation of state forest plots.
After on-site visits and study of the characteristics of the requested area, according to a reply letter of the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment to the Member of Parliament of the Ecologists Movement George Perdikis, it is stated that the selected area is outside the Natura 2000 Network. elements of the natural environment in the area are not a deterrent to further consideration of the request for the lease of state forest land for the proposed development purposes.
In the context of project evaluation, it is noted that a comprehensive and integrated environmental impact assessment will be made in relation to the creation and operation of this project, prior to its licensing, while the affected authorities / bodies are reported to maintain mostly positive views. Based on the above, as mentioned, there is an intention to ask the Department of Lands and Surveys to determine the market rent and its consent to the company for consultation with the town planning department to investigate the possibility of licensing the project. Regarding the mitigation of the effects on the environment, as it is emphasized, the design of the project should be possessed from an ecological approach and include at least the adaptation of the structures to the environment, the protection of the natural environment and the preservation of part of the natural vegetation.
Green light from the Municipality of Paralimni
The issue of creating a golf course in the municipal boundaries of the Municipality of Paralimni received the green light from a plenary session which sent positive views on development. An important element for the decision is the significant development that the whole development is expected to bring, in combination with the nearby marina of Paralimni, while the residents of the area view the project positively as it is a development that will contribute to the development of private parcels of land with which it borders.
Fourth and ideal location
This is the fourth site on which the company focuses on the implementation of the development, as the previous sites that were either proposed by the Government or had been selected did not favor the creation of the project.
According to the response of the Minister of Agriculture Costas Kadis to the MP of Ecologists George Perdikis, the first case concerned the lease of state forest land of 575 decares within the Natura 2000 area, in Cape Greco by decision of the Minister in 2007. The project would be done without incentives and without any residential or commercial development. As a result of these restrictions, the company did not proceed with the project, judging it financially unprofitable.
The ministry annulled its previous decision in 2014, approving in the second case, the lease of 590 decares of forest land in the Ayia Napa forest and reaffirming the government's commitment to build a single golf course within the Natura 2000 Cape Greco area. A relevant lease agreement between the director of the Forest Department and the company Ayia Napa Forest Golf Ltd was signed in March 2015. However, during the examination of the urban planning permit application submitted in 2017, the environmental impact assessment committee concluded that the creation and operation of a golf course and related tourist developments within the protected area, will have significant negative and irreversible effects on the area.
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The company then expressed interest in implementing the development in the municipal boundaries of Sotiras, near the forest of Agios Antonios within forest land and livestock area, based on the movement of livestock farms. Nevertheless, the municipal council rejected the company's interest in developing within the municipal limits of Sotiras.
Therefore, the company identified the specific location where there are as few environmental impacts and social reactions as possible and submitted, on 11/5/2020, a new application for the lease of state forest land. The new application concerns state forest land in the Municipality of Paralimni, with a total area of 771.148 square meters.
They have been trying for a golf course for 13 years
The effort to create a golf course in free Famagusta dates back to the rule of Glafkos Clerides since 1997. After the project went through many phases and difficulties and by successively changing four locations until today, it ended up in the wider area of Protaras.
The area, which is outside the "Site of Community Importance" and the "Special Protection Zone", is expected to host an area of 771.148 sq.m., development with a golf course and mild residential, commercial and tourist development that is expected to contribute to further upgrading of the area of Protaras and the wider area in combination with the marinas of Ayia Napa and Paralimni, thus contributing to the extension of the tourist season but also to the creation of hundreds of jobs for the residents of the area, both during construction and operation of the project.
It is pointed out that the company "Ayia Napa Forest Golf Ltd" is already in contact with one of the largest golf course design companies in the world, with the aim of creating a stadium of international standards, which will contribute to attracting not only thematic tourism but also organizing international scope. games that will attract further visitors to our country. At the same time, the design of the company for a golf course is based mainly on the Study for the National Tourism Strategy which started to be implemented by the Ministry of Tourism until 2030 and more specifically on one of the priorities given by our country for its promotion. Golf as one of the new types of theme tourism. In fact, as clearly stated in the National Tourism Strategy, “the development of golf courses is an effective way to develop the quality of the tourist product, while on February 16, 2005 at a meeting of the then Council of Ministers, it was decided to create 14 golf courses in our country , of which twelve in Paphos-Limassol, one in Larnaca and one in the province of Famagusta. Today in our country, four golf course facilities are in full operation, all in the province of Paphos (two in Kouklia, one in Paphos and one in Tsada), while the procedures and works for the other permits that have been approved are in progress.
In their previous reports on the issue, both businessmen and hoteliers in the area stressed that the creation of the golf course is essential for the economic, tourist, commercial, business, social and cultural development of the area. In fact, in his greeting in February 2019 during the inauguration ceremony of the Famagusta Police Directorate, the President of the Republic Nikos Anastasiadis himself, listing the major development projects implemented in the province of Famagusta, expressed his hope that the Government will and the implementation of the construction of a golf course, which will surely be licensed this time ", while he also stated that a local authority and a state," collaborators will succeed so that this project will soon become a reality. "
The company has started consultations with all involved departments in order to promote the construction of the project, after first submitting all the necessary environmental studies, with the company emphasizing from the beginning that the goal is mild development, with respect for the environment and with the aim the creation of a project that will contribute to the sustainability of the tourism product, will have a strong ecological identity, and will upgrade the area.
Famagusta.News