Filenews 19 December 2020 - by Angelos Nikolaou
Three years after the request of the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus for the magnificent project in Geroskipou, it returns this time with a new application concerning the construction and operation of an eight-storey 5-star hotel. To this end, a request for an information report on the project has been submitted and is expected to be consulted. According to the scholars, the cost of the whole project will amount to €100m. and will be completed in 2.5 years after the start of work after the building permit has been secured.
The hotel will eventually be built on top of the remains of an ancient aqueduct and reservoir, which will be highlighted by the installation of protective glass.
A Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment Report (RIP) was submitted for this development in August 2017, which included the construction of two residential towers and a hotel unit. Following the opinion issued on 30 January 2018 on this RIP, the Environmental Authority only consulted on the development of the two towers, while on the application for planning permission for the construction of the hotel, the Environmental Authority stressed that it would expect the results to be updated at the end of the antiquities investigations.
After the archaeological investigations progressed, the findings were communicated to the Holy Archdiocese to be taken into account in the redesign of the hotel. Subsequently, the Archdiocese proceeded to redesign the hotel, and submit a new application to the Department of Planning and Housing (ITO) for modification. The new plans were submitted by the ITO to the Department of Antiquities on 26/5/2020 for information and views on how to plan in relation to archaeological finds. The Department of Antiquities in a reply letter to the ITO on 7/7/2020 approved in principle the new design and made specific comments. After notification of the new plans and the views of the Department of Antiquities to the Department of the Environment, the latter considered that changes in the location of the project and its form in relation to the original design will require the submission of an information report.
The hotel is to be erected on the coastal front of the Municipality of Geroskipou on Poseidon Avenue, and aims to provide a luxurious and exclusive tourist development with the aim of attracting tourists and visitors of high level and at the same time providing state-of-the-art services in the hospitality sector. The proposed development is to be erected in block 280 of F/C 51/27E1 with an area of 33,523m2 and concerns the construction of a 5-star hotel unit and eight floors plus ground floor and roof garden with a total height of 40,60m. This height is within the limit of 45m specified by a letter from the Civil Aviation Department dated 1/11/2017, due to its proximity to the wider area of Paphos airport. The hotel will have a capacity of 484 beds and will include a wellness centre, ballroom, shopping and banquet hall among others.
Access to the hotel area can be made from Poseidon Avenue. Entrance to the hotel (Lobby) will take place from the underground area there will be an entrance point near the parking lots and for the ground floor there will be two entry points where the parking spaces are located. Please note that one access point will pass through a glass ramp above the Ancient Monument "Remnants of Ancient Aqueduct and Reservoir".
Under the RIP submitted to the Environmental Authority (25/08/2017) the initial design of its Diamond Essence hotel unit provided for the construction of 14 levels, including ground floor and basement space with the maximum height of the building amounting to 53.31m. The 220-room/suite project (including condos) took a total structured area of 27,583,40m2.
In the light of ancient Hellenistic period
The adaptation of the project's plans to shape the form in which the new designs were submitted arose after continuous consultation and consultation with the Department of Antiquities, and is interwoven with the protection and preservation of ancient monuments. The excavation work to date, according to the reply letter of the Department of Antiquities to the ITO (date 7/7/2020), brought to light parts of buildings and installations of the Hellenistic period of which in the area of the piece under consideration are located the following:
• Building Foundations - Hellenistic period building complex.
• Water Pipeline - Remnants of an ancient aqueduct.
• Tank - Remnants of an ancient aqueduct and reservoir.
In the reply letter of the Department of Antiquities to the ITO (7/7/2020), on the one hand it initially approved the new design of the hotel unit under consideration, and on the other hand it pointed out observations/ requirements and measures with regard to the protection of ancient monuments during construction work.
Adjustment of project plans
The piece to be erected was originally declared as the Ancient Monument of Table "B" (Ancient Monuments on private land) due to findings of ancient residues, but subsequently and after consultation of the Attorney General has been declassified. These findings indicated the need for test archaeological sections by (or in collaboration with) the Department of Antiquities in order to determine the extent of the ancient remains. Developments on the subject, in the context of the examination of the application for Planning Permission (August 2017), for the construction of the hotel unit and residential towers respectively, lead the Department of Antiquities to have expressed the position that it cannot submit definitive views until an exploratory excavation has been completed. Excavations began in 2015, continued in 2016 and intensified in August 2017. As the excavation had shown and confirmed the geophysical survey that had been carried out in 2017 in the area of the piece of proposed development, the largest and most important part of the ancient facilities was located in the area where the hotel would be built according to the original design.
