Filenews 14 February 2021 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Sos! If public opinion was rightly outraged by the demolition of three buildings of the Archdiocese, what will it say now that it is informed, through this publication, that the Archdiocese has in the old town of Nicosia another 20 dangerous or crumbling - as characterized by the Municipality - buildings? What would the citizen say in the face of the possibility that some of them may or may not be deliberately left, turned into moribund ones and eventually collapse on their own or ... collapse?
It should be noted that in the past other buildings of the Archdiocese have been left to collapse without, however, provoking any reactions, nor have measures been taken to rebuild them, as was the case with the three located next to the cathedral and recently demolished.
It is also noted that the Church, as a whole and not only the Archdiocese, has dozens of buildings in Nicosia, some of which are preserved/maintained while others face some problems but have not (yet) become dangerous, which will happen with mathematical precision if left at the mercy of time.
However, dangerous or crumbling houses within Nicosia are others that do not belong to the Archdiocese and it may be even more difficult to save them since if in the case of the Church there can be pressure to take measures, the owners of other buildings, because of their financial situation, simply cannot not only support them but also not even support them. Of course, like the Archdiocese, there are also owners who leave their listed buildings at the mercy of time to collapse on their own or "help" them to collapse in order to get rid of the ... hassle. There are also preserved owners who are abroad, where they are convicted if the state does not intervene to save them.
The situation in Nicosia with regard to listed buildings is recorded by the technical services of the Municipality of Nicosia and based on the existing data, there are currently 141 dangerous buildings and 14 crumbling ones. It is worth noting that the dangerous buildings were 200 but after interventions in them, the danger came 59. The question is when they will endure and be in a situation that will not be considered dangerous and whether others will be added to them. In addition, the crumbling buildings were 61 and 47 were removed from the list following support interventions. Here things are even worse because a crumbling house, no matter how much it is supported, if it is not repaired, is always more vulnerable to collapse. It is understood that if for three listed buildings there was an unprecedented mobilisation, for 141 buildings deemed dangerous and 14 that were deemed to be crumbling, all those involved would have to be mobilised so as not to repeat levels of preserved buildings even if they were wrong.
On the basis of the same data, another 60 preserved (after their risk was removed) were considered to be in need of repair. In general, more than 200 buildings have been pending and under surveillance in recent times. In total, of the 325 buildings recorded, 110 were deemed non-hazardous or their risk has been lifted while 215 need support, interventions, etc.
It is worth noting that within the boundaries of the Municipality of Nicosia there are a total of 1,200 listed buildings and of these about 850 are located in the city within the walls. Of the 1,200 listed buildings some have been fully maintained, others are abandoned, others have been supported and others are between decay and arbitrariness and it is only a matter of time before several are demolished or collapsed, even if the Municipality supports those deemed to be in need.
The Municipality of Nicosia with limited financial possibilities often pays the cost of the supports and chases the owners to get the cost of repairs in order to pay the contractors.
15,000 historic buildings
The above concerns not only Nicosia because there are preserved and similar problems in other cities or even in communities. According to data provided to "F" by the Head of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Branch in the Department of Urban Planning, Mr. Yola Kourou, there are estimated around 15,000 historic buildings from which around 7,000 have already been declared as preserved. As he explains, the number of evaluated buildings is not the final one, as there is an ongoing process of further study and evaluation of traditional/historical buildings.
According to the same data, listed buildings exist in 280 of the 350 communities. In response to a question, Ms Kourou said that the state owns about 90 buildings declared to be preserved. However, as far as public buildings are concerned, the number is much higher, since there are listed buildings belonging to the Municipalities, the Communities, the School Authorities, etc.
In the question, when the phenomenon of demolition was most strongly observed, the time is determined in the 1980s when several traditional and historical buildings were demolished, as part of the then economic recovery effort of the Cypriot state. The disaster that occurred at the time led to the promotion of the first Group Conservation Orders in all the historical cores of the cities of Cyprus.
With regard to the areas in which traditional buildings were protected, Ms Kourou says that these include the historical areas of the major urban centres as well as areas in Tserie, Upper Lefkara, Chrysochous Town, Geroskipou, Pera Mountain, Atheinos, Vorokini, Psima, Zygi, Agios Mamas, Drousia, etc.
The Municipality of Nicosia recommends
What measures can or should be taken to effectively protect listed buildings based on the experience of the Municipality of Nicosia? The Municipal Engineer Mrs. Koula Ioannou mentions to "F", that among other things the Municipality recommends the following:
1. Speed up the examination time of owners' appeals by the Ministry of the Interior in relation to the Enforcement Notice. The examination procedure should not exceed three months. (The imposition of an administrative fine is a powerful tool in the hands of the Municipality.
2. The Ministry of the Interior, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the House of Representatives, should take all appropriate steps (amendment of the applicable legislation and speed up the time of adjudication of appeals to the Court of Justice) in order to facilitate the local authorities in the implementation of the Law and the restoration of legality.
3. The State to increase grants to owners for maintenance of listed buildings to 70% of the cost of repairs.
4. The State as the guardian of the Cypriot property shall proceed immediately to their maintenance.
5. Exemption of listed buildings from the rental room. The current situation acts as a disincentive to their maintenance and restoration.
6. The negligence of maintenance/maintenance of a listed building by its owner should be included in the offences for which an administrative fine will be allowed. (The chronic negligence of the owners for the maintenance of their listed buildings often leads to their collapse.
7. Issuance of an out-of-court fine for aesthetic nuisance, maintenance negligence or danger.
8. Increase the penalties provided for by the Law for the demolition of preserved buildings.
