Filenews 16 September 2023 - by Angelos Nicolaou
The lack of control in the Akamas region in previous years led to a series of illegalities and conversion of existing buildings into holiday homes.
With the government's decision, in the context of measures and actions to strengthen the development activity of the Akamas communities, it was decided, among other things, to study, record, map and highlight the stedia. These are characteristic drystone buildings in the countryside of the Akamas Local Plan, which were used in the past periodically by the local population for facilitation of their agricultural occupations and was mainly related to the keeping of animals. In the small stone buildings the livestock breeders spent the night when they were away from their village.
Their remains are found scattered throughout the area of the Akamas Local Plan. Within 2024, the study aimed at recording, mapping and highlighting the areas of the area will be completed. The project is promoted with the ultimate goal of restoring and highlighting the steadia so that they can be included in the UNESCO cultural heritage sites.
In the context of the recording, a total of 32 cases of illegalities were identified and in five cases where buildings were converted into holiday homes, measures have already been taken by the Department of Town Planning and the District Administration, while procedures are in progress to take measures for the rest of the offenders who were detected and were in inaccessible areas. There are buildings that while there were constructions of 20 sq.m. in the past, ended up in cottages of 150 sq.m. up to 210 sq.m.!
Initially, two meetings were held at the Pafos District Administration with the participation of the District Officer, the Pafos Office of the Department of Town Planning and Housing and the Game and Fauna Service, in the presence of a representative of the Department of Forests, and a team was set up with officers of the three Services. The Department of Forests did not participate in the team because the premises under investigation are located outside the National Forest Park, which is its exclusive competence. Subsequently, preliminary work was carried out by evaluating information from reports/complaints to the Town Planning Office and the District Administration, from data from the Game Service, which frequently visits areas in Akamas in the context of their wider duties, and aerial photographs were obtained from the Pafos District Office of the Department of Lands and Surveys, depicting the initial scenes and their current condition. In particular, aerial photographs are available at the Department of Lands and Surveys since 1963.
Subsequently, a distinction was made between the cases according to the seriousness of the illegality. List A includes 25 cases where serious irregularities were found and List B includes seven cases of milder interventions. It was decided to forward as a first priority the 25 List A cases for judicial action and, as a second step, to take action for the seven List B cases.
All illegal constructions are located on the outskirts of the Akamas National Forest Park, with some adjacent to the Natura 2000 Network and fall mainly within Protection Zones (Rivers, Landforms, Landscape, Nature – Da) and Livestock Zones (SG).
The majority of the 25 illegalities are in the community of Ineia, where 10 cases were found, followed by the community of Drouseia with seven, the community of Neo Chorio with six and the community of Pegeia with two cases.
These are cases where serious modifications and alterations were made to existing buildings-stiadia or even the construction of an entirely new building, for use as residential units or holiday homes. Three types of illegalities were identified: a) Installation of containers with a metal canopy on a concrete base, b) additions/extensions to an existing structure and c) construction of a new building made of concrete, bricks, stone, wood and/or other humble materials.
List B includes cases where interventions are of a milder extent and mainly concern work with humble materials in existing small stages for agricultural/livestock use, without changing their use permit (e.g. fencing with dry stones, etc.). List B (seven cases of illegalities): Five cases were identified in the community of Ineia and one case each in the community of Kato Arodes and Drouseia.
In these cases too, a letter of formal notice will be sent to restore legality and judicial measures will be followed with a second priority.
Court measures in five cases
The five cases (two in the Community of Ineia and three in the Community of Neo Chorio) were known to the competent Departments previously. Court measures had already been taken by the Department of Town Planning in two cases and the Pafos District Administration in the remaining three cases concerning the conversion of stiadia into holiday homes. All five cases fall within an urban protection zone, four in zone Da2 and one case in zone Da2 and Da31. The first case in Ineia for which a court decision is pending concerns a holiday home of 72 sq.m. in a stone-built stiadium which was maintained.
On the façade there is an uncovered pergola with wooden morines and fencing with telli. A second case in Ineia concerns a holiday home of 35 sq.m. that includes stone-built premises, dry-stone fencing and fencing with telli. The premises and the dry stone walls have been camouflaged by branches, backs, bushes, etc. Carob, olive and pine trees have been planted around the perimeter. For the remaining three cases concerning holiday homes in Neo Chorio fall within the Special Protection Zone of Akamas, court measures are pending for change of use to a holiday home since for all three cases a permit for an agricultural warehouse was issued. The first case concerns a house of 121 sq.m. with a tel fence and for which a permit for an agricultural warehouse was issued. A second case concerns a house of 210 sq.m. made of concrete, bricks with verandas around the perimeter and fencing made of telis, for which an agricultural warehouse permit has been issued. The third case concerns a cottage of 128 sq.m. made of concrete, bricks, with verandas around the perimeter and fencing made of teli for which a permit for an agricultural warehouse was also issued.
For the remaining 20, under the instructions of the Minister of Interior, the process for locating the owners is proceeding through the Department of Lands and Surveys, the Civil Registry and with the help of the Local Authorities, so that in the first phase and in accordance with the relevant legislation, a warning letter of compliance / restoration of legality will be sent to them within two months. If there is no compliance on their part, the Pafos District Administration will forward the cases to the Attorney General's Office for judicial action.
BACKGROUND
And negligence and cover-up
Under the pretext of planning both the sustainable development plan of the National Forest Park and the Akamas Local Plan, the competent government authorities were negligent, while the same cannot be said for community leaders of the area who covered up the illegalities, some of which even involved themselves. As a result, several serious arbitrary interventions and illegal constructions result, some of which were noticed today after the investigation that proceeded on the initiative of the Minister of Interior. It is therefore not surprising why no measures were taken to remove the illegalities beforehand. However, we hope that the competent authorities will not only stick to legal measures against offenders since justice is slow to come to Cyprus, but will find ways to deal with them, especially those who derive financial benefit from their illegal activity, because with time-consuming procedures the only ones who are rewarded are the offenders.
