The preparation of a Local Urban Plan for Kythera and Antikythera announced in a press release the Municipality of Kythera, which is included in the second phase of the Urban Reform Programme «Konstantinos Doxiadis». In the press release, the Municipality makes reference to the determination of land use, building conditions and protection areas and speaks of a definitive end to arbitrary administrative interpretations of planning legislation and to urban anarchy in general. Read more.
Local Urban Plan in the Municipality of Kythera
Η preparation of a Local Urban Plan for Kythera and Antikythera is included in the second phase of the Urban Reform Programme «Konstantinos Doxiadis», in honour of the great pioneer Greek Urban Designer and Architect of the 20th centuryού century (1903-1975).
The relevant decision, which was published in a Government Gazette on 20 December (Government Gazette 6046/B/20-12-2021), was signed by the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. «Preparation and approval of programmes for the preparation of Local Urban Plans and Special Urban Plans (Section B of urban planning programmes), in application of par. 1 of Article 14 of Law No. 4759/2020». The second phase involves 128 municipalities or municipalities or groups of municipalities and has a budget of €401 million with funding from the Recovery and Resilience Fund.
The Local Urban Plans (essentially an evolution of the General Urban Plans/GIS and the Open City Spatial Organisation Plans/SCHOP) define land use, building conditions, protection areas, define the areas of productive activities, define and characterise road and transport networks in general. They will also include measures to adapt to climate change and measures to support emergency situations and manage natural disasters. The final texts will be accompanied by a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, a stream delimitation study and will be approved by Presidential Decree to be subject to pre-judicial review by the Council of State and become legally binding.
The announcement of the studies of the 2nd phase of the «Konstantinos Doxiadis» programme will take place immediately in groups from Technical Chamber of Greece, which is the contracting authority, which has assumed the authority and responsibility for monitoring the progress of all Urban Planning Programmes, and the timetable for completion is strictly the June 2025.
The completion of the TAPs will provide an end to arbitrary official (and/or political) interpretations of planning legislation and to planning anarchy in general, setting the development of each region on a specific basis.
The inclusion of the Municipality of Kythera in this programme is a strategic choice of the Municipal Authority and undoubtedly confirms the long-standing effort and anxiety of the well-remembered Councillor Manolis Stathis, regarding the issue, which he knew comprehensively, pushing in every direction for many years for its implementation.
Only with the TPA can the nature, the built and man-made environment and the culture of Kythera be protected, the island be protected from the anarchic and pharaonic development that is related only to the ephemeral profit and be handed over to future generations in a sustainable way and with a vital development perspective.. In this context, the Mayor of Kythera Mr. Efstratios Harhalakis will set up special committee in order to organize in Kythera a a major conference in 2023, on the relationship between the carrying capacity of infrastructure and tourism development, an issue of capital importance for the future of our country.
