Filenews 3 November 2022 - by Vassos Vassiliou
Incentives to save 10,000 recorded remarkable buildings, including 7,000 that have already been declared listed, announced the Minister of Interior, Nikos Nouris, while announcing the digitization of the architectural heritage and landscape.
Speaking yesterday during a press conference, in the presence of the Director of Urban Planning, Kyriakos Koundouros, Mr. Nouris referred to the increase of the recognized cost (maintenance) up to 43% of the cost and an increase in the amount of direct sponsorship from € 90,000 to € 100,000. The increase is granted in order to "address the significant variation in building costs, which is expected to narrow the difference between the actual and recognised maintenance costs of listed buildings".
Mr. Nouris said that recognizing the need to address the problems of maintenance and removal of risk, especially of the listed buildings, the aim of the above interventions is to prevent the deterioration of the condition of such buildings, to remove the risk and to avoid their collapse.
Incentives, among others, include:
- Grant for the complete restoration of the outer shell of a building every 20 years, with coverage up to 2/3 of the restoration cost and with a maximum cost of €20,000, while there will be an interim aid in 10 years.
- Increase the amount for direct interventions to support and insure a listed building, also up to 2/3 of the cost, increasing the amount from €5,000 to €20,000. For these expenses, €4.5 million has been budgeted. for listed buildings, cumulatively with another approximately €10 million raised by the private sector, through the innovative mechanism for transferring the building factor.
The minister noted that the last time such interventions were made, although not in such a wide range, was in 1979.
Mr. Nouris noted that in addition to the State, which will benefit from the preservation of cultural heritage, the owners of the properties themselves will also benefit.
Referring to the recording of cultural heritage, the interior minister said that the archive of architectural heritage currently kept by the Department of Town Planning and Housing includes more than 10,000 registered buildings. As he said, the archive is digitized in the information system "Hippodamus", which has been operating since the beginning of the summer, and also includes the actions of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, under the title: "Digitization of the Architectural Heritage".
The aim of this action is to make the digital portal accessible to both professionals and the general public to get to know the architectural heritage and landscape of our country. "We believe that it is time, through this initiative, this reform, to enable professionals and any citizen of this place to see these masterpieces, which need corrective actions," Mr. Nouris said.
Furthermore, he said that through this portal, professionals are facilitated in the management of information and data, which for the first time will be concentrated in a place fully accessible to all.
As was said during the presentation that followed, in the context of digitization of the architectural heritage of the place, 4,000 remarkable buildings were recorded and digitized and 100 rural settlements were analyzed, while special areas were also defined. At the same time, an interactive landscape assessment map was developed with data entry in the "Hippodamus" system. It is noted that in the recording / digitization of the 4,000 buildings nationwide, 25 designers or groups of designers participate.
In addition, a database with details of traditional and historical buildings was created. In the "Hippodamus" system, data on the condition and vulnerability of the buildings were also entered.
