Filenews 15 June 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
The Municipal Council of Geroskipou, at its meeting on Tuesday, dealt with the issue of granting planning permission for the construction of a hotel unit on a coastal plot of the Municipality, owned by the Archdiocese.
The Municipal Council decided to proceed with the filing of a hierarchical appeal against the planning permission for the construction of a CONDOS type hotel unit on a coastal plot owned by the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus, considering that due to the great archaeological and historical value of the findings in the area, this would be catastrophic.
The Municipality of Geroskipou insists on continuing excavations throughout the plot, in order to fully reveal the monument, save it and, ultimately, highlight it.
An extraordinary meeting on the same issue was also convened by the Pafos Salvation Movement, which is represented in the Geroskipou Municipal Council with a councillor. According to the president of the Movement, Michalis Hatzimitsis, there is indignation about the stance of the Department of Town Planning, which against the will of the local community issued this planning permit, while the attitude of the Department of Antiquities is also bad, which, under the circumstances, repeatedly tried to present black for white.
Instead of defending the obvious, which would be the protection of the unique antiquities in Geroskipou, he stresses, he urged the Urban Planning Authority to issue a permit that provides for their coexistence with the hotel. He also suggested that part of the antiquities be buried under the hotel and another part of them should become part of the hotel's lobby.
The Movement calls on the Municipality of Geroskipou to immediately file a hierarchical appeal against the decision and to organize protests, while it also requests the declaration of the Department of Antiquities as undesirable in Geroskipou. Finally, it calls on the President of the Republic to order an investigation into the actions and decisions of officials of the two state departments and to intervene for the withdrawal of the planning permit.
