Provincial Local Government Organizations (EOA) are expected to find sticks, and are called upon to take bulldozers in order to remove urban planning illegalities in dozens of refugee apartment buildings located in government settlements.
The illegalities have been recorded by the Department of Urban Planning and have already been forwarded to the EOA for further handling. The illegalities range from extensions to room additions or configuration of parking spaces, and so on.
The task for the NOAs is not easy considering that these illegalities have been implemented for decades. Of course, the issue lies not only in the illegalities but also in the fact that they hinder the installation of elevators in apartment buildings in which mainly elderly people are trapped who, due to mobility problems, cannot go down the stairs to the ground floor even to be taken to the doctor. It is known that in some cases even the Fire Brigade was mobilized in order to lower tenants from the floors to the ground floor.
After an inspection by the Department of Urban Planning, illegalities were found in 46 apartment buildings. Of these, 10 are in Nicosia, 20 in Limassol and 16 in Larnaca.
The main arbitrariness identified during inspections of officials of the Department of Urban Planning concern:
- Closing of terrace / glass construction.
- Pergola construction-Extension of terraces.
- Added a room.
- Prefabricated additions (e.g. warehouses, etc.)-Fences with timber, trees, cheap materials.
- Construction of shelters, parking spaces with cheap materials.
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Constantinos Ioannou, acknowledging the suffering of the elderly and the dangers involved in their entrapment, sent a letter to the presidents of the NOAs of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca informing them about the records of illegalities.
The minister informs the presidents of the HOAs that: "In the context of the program for the installation of elevators in refugee apartment buildings, it is found that it is impossible to implement this program in a significant number of apartment buildings within refugee settlements in the districts of Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca. In particular, while the installation of elevators was planned, the implementation of the project in several cases was not possible due to the lack of consent of some owners, mainly those who live on the ground floors, who have carried out illegal interventions and extensive arbitrary constructions in the surrounding areas of the apartment buildings".
Furthermore, Mr. Ioannou announces that "the Department of Urban Planning, following relevant instructions, proceeded to record the interventions in question" and adds:
Taking into account the fact that the installation of elevators in these apartment buildings is necessary to serve apartment owners on the floors, who due to age or other mobility problems cannot be served by the current situation, it is necessary to make an effort to remove all the inhibiting factors that prevent the implementation of the project.
The Minister of the Interior also attaches a relevant table, which, according to what he records in his letter, captures all the illegal constructions and calls on them to take the necessary measures to enable the lifting of the interventions in question and the continuation of the implementation of the program.
The measures to which the minister refers is the removal of illegalities, extensions, additions, conversions, etc., without in some cases excluding their demolition.
It is noted that the recording of the illegalities took place after the problem that arose with the installation of elevators in the apartment buildings in question to serve the residents and the discussion that preceded in the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees. As it is known, the Parliament is pushing for a solution given that it is even possible to lose lives, in the sense that in case a serious health problem arises, by the time the procedures for transporting the patient to the ground floor are activated, it may be too late.
"Brake" due to lack of consent of owners. The Ministry of Interior invokes the legislation and opinion of the Legal Service – The installation of stairlifts is a solution of necessity
The Ministry of the Interior, citing the opinion of the Legal Service, indicates that based on the legislation, in order to proceed with the installation of an elevator, the consent of all owners of an apartment building is required. The same applies to the apartment buildings of the refugee settlements, given that the apartments have been securitized. In addition, another big problem concerns precisely the fact that many owners of the apartments, mainly on the ground floor, have made arbitrariness and refuse to remove them and give their consent for the installation of elevators.
The same problem exists now that all apartment buildings have been included in the "ktiZO" Plan and, although a grant of €90,000 is granted for the installation of an elevator, there is no consultation and consent from all owners. It is noted that the solution of the inclusion of apartment buildings in the "ktiZO" Plan was given in order to proceed faster the procedures through the private sector.
The Elevator Installation Program in existing apartment buildings of the Government Housing Settlements for Displaced Persons concerned the installation of elevators in 368 existing ones throughout Cyprus. To date, the installation of elevators in 124 existing apartment buildings has been completed, at a cost of €13 million.
Throughout Cyprus at the moment, 202 elevators are installed in government settlements which are maintained by the Department of Electromechanical Services, through private contractors with the cost of their maintenance/repair and operation ranging from €200,000 per year. The fund is paid by the Department of Urban Planning.
So far, the installation of elevators in apartment buildings through the "ktiZO" Grant Scheme has not been completed, as the reconstruction and/or repair works of the apartment buildings are still in progress at this stage.
The Department of Urban Planning recently completed the project for the construction of manholes for the installation of elevators as well as maintenance works in nine existing apartment buildings in the Government Settlement of Kokkines in Strovolos, at a cost of €1.8 million.
It is noted that in some apartment buildings, due to their layout, for technical reasons it is not possible to install elevators. In these cases, as well as in cases where tenants refuse to consent to the installation of elevators, the installation of a stairlift (chair) is already being considered, especially in apartment buildings where people with mobility problems live.
The Town Planning Department held a preliminary consultation with refugees who face mobility problems and agreed on the installation of the elevator chair. In the first phase, a stairlift will be installed on a pilot basis in 2-3 apartment buildings.
The stairlift (chair) has the following characteristics:
• Outdoor stairlifts (chairs) that can lift a weight of up to 145 kg will be implemented.
• They have a seat belt, which must be properly closed for the chair to work.
• It is possible for floor occupants to use a remote control to use the stairlift.
• The chair is fixed to the steps so as not to put a static burden on the structural elements and takes up minimal space during the non-working phase.
