The preliminary Environmental Policy Statement for the British Bases is being prepared in the framework of the implementation of the Agreement, which was signed about four years ago by the Republic of Cyprus and the United Kingdom to regulate the development of properties located within the boundaries of the two Bases.
A total of three municipalities and sixteen communities in the provinces of Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta will benefit from this Agreement, which provides, inter alia, for the definition of urban zones and development policies for the civilian areas of the Akrotiri and Dhekelia bases. In particular, 78% of the land of the British Bases, with a total area of about 200 square kilometers, is expected to be included in urban areas, while the restrictions that currently apply to the acquisition and development of land within these areas will be lifted.
The historic, as it was characterized, Agreement was signed on January 15, 2014 by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries Ioannis Kasoulidis and William Hague, during the official visit of the President of the Republic to London. "The Agreement now brings a new air of optimism for the residents of the British Bases and those who have property in the Bases, as it opens up huge prospects for economic growth and activity", noted then, in a written statement, the President of the Republic Nikos Anastasiadis.
Immediately after the signing of the Agreement, intensive consultations followed between the Authorities of the Republic of Cyprus and the British Bases for the preparation and adoption of the Policy Statement. For this purpose, a competent committee was set up consisting of representatives of the Department of Urban Planning and Housing, as the coordinating body of the Prefectures, the Association of Municipalities and Communities, the Ministry of Communications and Works, the Ministry of Agriculture and representatives of the Va Administration.
The process for preparing the Policy Statement, which proved to be very demanding and time consuming, went through various stages to reach the stage of environmental impact assessment today, based on the agreed preliminary Policy Statement prepared, after first taking into account the Concerns and suggestions from local communities, as expressed during open meetings and rallies.
The environmental impact assessment is the sixth of the total of eight stages of the first phase for the preparation of the Declaration. The stage will follow at which the Department of Urban Planning and Housing and the Administration of Bases will jointly formulate the final text of the Policy Statement, which will be submitted to the Commander of Bases for final approval. The 8th and last stage provides for the publication of the Declaration in the Official Gazette of the Bases and the Republic.
The second phase concerns the period of objections, during which each interested party will be able to submit a written objection to the Commander of the Bases within four months from the day of publication of the Declaration. The objections will be examined by the Governor in collaboration with the Department of Urban Planning and Housing, with the former having the final say as to whether or not it needs to be amended. The finalized Policy Statement will be published in the Official Gazette of the Bases and the Republic and can be reviewed every 5 years.
Towards the end of 2017, the publication of the Policy Statement, states a competent source to KYPE
"All the procedures were followed, consultations were held, legal issues that arose due to the status of the region were addressed and we reached the completion of the Local Plan of the region that is expected to be published around the end of 2017," said the Cypriot News Agency (KYPE) a source who closely monitors the whole process, noting that the President of the Republic shows particular interest and requests that he be kept informed of the progress of the implementation of the Agreement.
The Head of the Department of Environmental Impact Assessment and Sustainable Development of the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irini Konstantinou, also speaking to KYPE, stated that the Department of Urban Planning and Housing has assigned, after a relevant announcement and evaluation Ltd the elaboration of a Study for the possible effects on the environment from the implementation of the local Plan of the area.
Ms. Konstantinou noted that the Strategic Environmental Impact Study, as it is called, should be submitted to the Department of Environment by next October, which will post it on its website and invite all interested parties to a public consultation.
He stated that both the views and proposals to be submitted during the public consultation and the comments of the ten-member Competent Committee advising the Environmental Authority, in accordance with the relevant legislation, will be taken into account during the evaluation of the Study and the issuance of the final opinion / approval of the Department of Environment.
He said that this process takes about two months and in this case is expected to be completed by the end of this year, noting, at the same time, that the opinion is subject to the final approval of the British Bases.
Then, he added, the opinion will be sent back to the Department of Urban Planning and Housing for the preparation and publication of the final text of the Policy Statement that includes the definition of urban zones and the relevant maps. With the publication of the Policy Statement, after the consent of the Bases, the process of objections will follow, concluded Ms. Constantine.
It is noted that in the province of Limassol, the municipalities of Ypsonas and K. Polemidia will benefit from the Agreement and the communities of Akrotiri, Asomatos, Trachoni, Kolossi, Erimi, Sotira, Paramali and Avdimos, which fall in parts within the borders of the British Commonwealth. falls entirely. As far as the Province of Larnaca - Famagusta is concerned, the Municipality of Deryneia and the Communities of Frenaros, Avgorou, Achna, Acheritos, Pyla, Ormidia, Xylotympou and Xylofagou fall within the boundaries of the Bases in parts (Achna that the rest is occupied).
Mayor Ypsonas: The publication of the Policy Statement is already too late
Speaking to KYPE, the Mayor of Ypsonas, Pantelis Georgiou, who represented the Union of Municipalities in the Committee that undertook the preparation of the Policy Statement, stated that the Municipality welcomed this Agreement from the very beginning, noting, however, that "it is already too late to publish of the local plan ".
"While schedules were given that spoke for 18 months, we have far exceeded them with the result that landowners are unimaginably pressuring the municipal authorities for the time of publication of the Declaration, but without being able to give answers, since although members of the Commission, "Officers taking part in the consultations as well as the administration of the British Bases are keeping us in complete obscurity," he noted.
According to Mr. Georgiou, "the British do not want anything more than residential development and some craft zones, since in cases where tourist development was requested in the Limassol area, due to the arrival of the casino, the answer was negative and many times the representatives of the Bases came to a rupture with us, while they were also vindictive in their positions ".
As he revealed, "the same happened in the case where we had asked for the creation of higher education units that were again denied. At that time, a vote was taken in the Committee with the vast majority of members voting in favor of the proposals submitted by the Department of Urban Planning and Housing, so that the Policy Statement is in line with the one in force in the Republic of Cyprus ".
"The problem," he added, "stems from the fact that the final decision on what will be allowed and what will not be made by the Base Commander, with the result that, as we believe, there is an unequal treatment between landowners in its areas. Republic of Cyprus with that of the British Bases ".
Mayor Ypsonas pointed out that "if and when the committee's suggestions are adopted on the points that need to be harmonized with those of the Policy Statement in force in the Republic of Cyprus, then a large part of our requests will be met", warning that "if this is not done, then be assured that we will take such measures and mobilizations to redress the injustice that will befall our citizens. "
The British Bases are taking a negative stance, says the Mayor of Deryneia
For his part, the Mayor of Deryneia Andros Karagiannis, also speaking to KYPE, said that as a municipality "we expressed from the first moment our reservations, whether the British military authorities would allow any development near the area of Agios Nikolaos, Strovilia are part of the municipal boundaries of Deryneia ".
Mr. Karagiannis said that despite the ambitious efforts made by the relevant government services, "unfortunately, we are constantly stumbling over the efforts of the representatives of the British Base Dekelia - Agios Nikolaos to protect their military installations, promoting persistent security issues, almost always a negative attitude ".
"Deryneia is greatly influenced by the facilities of the British Bases of Dhekelia - Agios Nikolaos, since the entire area of Strovilia is located within the British Bases. "We demanded, through the pandemic gathering, the creation of a minimal Commercial and Residential Area, while the entire rest of the area of Strovilia should remain agricultural", said the Mayor.
"Unfortunately," he added, "the representatives of the British Bases were adamant, both for Deryneia and for the other areas adjacent to the military area of Agios Nikolaos, Acheritos and Frenaros. This means that the announcement of an agreement between Britain and Cyprus will obviously be a free gift for Deryneia, since Strovilia will continue to be under constant surveillance ".
The Executive Secretary of the Union of Cyprus Communities requests that the issue of derogations be clarified
From the side of the Union of Communities of Cyprus, the Executive Secretary of the Union Panagiotis Damianou stated to KYPE that it is important that the development of these areas follow the model of development that applies to the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus in terms of issuance of urban planning and building permits.
Mr. Damianou pointed out that he has not clarified so far how the applications for planning permits will be handled in derogation from the provisions of the Development Plans, noting that it is something that should be clarified.
Mr. Damianou said that the Authorities of the Republic and especially the Director of the Department of Urban Planning and Housing make, from the first moment, systematic and tireless efforts in order for this agreement to take shape with the final goal of publishing the Policy Statement that will be and the culmination of all these efforts, he noted. Finally, he himself expressed his reservations regarding the final approval of the Declaration by the Commander of the Bases.
The British seem to link the implementation of the Agreement with the solution of the Cyprus problem, estimates the President of the Real Estate Agents
In addition, in his statements to KYPE, the President of the Real Estate Registration Council (SKE) and the President of the Cyprus Association of Real Estate Entrepreneurs (SKEK) Marinos Kynageirou stated that “real estate properties within the the boundaries of the British Bases, regardless of their location, remain for years underestimated and blocked, in a way, while they are considered second-class areas ".
With this agreement, he noted, "the aim is to change this unfair situation for the owners of these properties so that they can use their properties in the same way as landowners throughout the rest of the Republic of Cyprus. In order to achieve such a thing, the current restrictions on the development of these properties must be lifted since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. "
At the same time, Mr. Kynaigeirou expressed his reservation as to whether the Agreement will be implemented in practice, explaining that the British seem to link the implementation of the agreement with the solution of the Cyprus problem, as he estimates. "Without a solution to the Cyprus problem, I do not believe that the British will proceed with the liberation of these areas for development purposes, since they themselves had seen from the beginning this Agreement as a lever of pressure and as an incentive to push for a solution to the Cyprus problem. "I do not think otherwise the British should come and tell us 'here is your gift'", in his expression.
It should be noted that KYPE also contacted the British High Commission in Cyprus in order to record their own position regarding the implementation of the Agreement, without however a positive response from them.
Source: KYPE