Athens City Council Acts to Protect Ellinoroson’s Free Spaces
Athens, May 25 – The Athens City Council has unanimously passed a resolution emphasizing the critical need to protect free public spaces in the Ellinoroson area and across the wider city of Athens. This significant decision was made during today’s Municipal Council meeting, following a detailed memorandum submitted by local residents. Representatives of the concerned citizens were present at the meeting, where they articulated their positions to the Council.
Resident Concerns Drive Council’s Decision
The core of the discussion centered on residents’ anxieties regarding the construction of a new Public Power Corporation (PPC) building complex in the area. Key concerns included the potential for further intensification of building density and the adverse effects this could have on the daily lives of residents and the environmental balance of the neighborhood.
Resolution Highlights Environmental and Urban Planning Issues
The resolution states: “The Municipality of Athens shares the concerns of residents about the intensification of construction in a large free public space (approximately 20 acres) within a densely populated neighborhood of Athens, and at a critical point in the city important for the climatic balance of the Attica Basin, due to its continuity with the Hymettus mountain range and the Goudi Metropolitan Park.”
The Council awaits the decision of the Council of State to address issues related to the agreement between the General Urban Plan of 1988 and the City Plan, as amended in 1998, as well as the application of recent jurisprudence on the bonuses of the New Building Regulation (NOK). The Municipality of Athens will take into account the judgment of the Council of State and will constructively utilize the arguments and reasoning of the decision towards greater protection of such spaces, so that they are not built upon, but instead returned to public use as green spaces.
The Municipality of Athens believes that the remaining free spaces in the city, especially when they belong to public property, should contribute to the creation of green spaces and social infrastructures, alongside the possible coverage of other public needs.
Call for Legislative Action and School Issues Addressed
Furthermore, the City Council calls on the government to immediately take legislative initiative so that all former military camp areas within urban centers are granted to municipalities to be transformed into parks and public, welfare spaces, thereby enhancing the climatic resilience of cities and urban areas in general. The resolution also advocates for the expropriation by the Municipality of Athens of the plot opposite the PPC construction site, which belongs to the Bank of Greece, to be developed as a free green space, as it is characterized as such.
During the session, parents representing the Coordinating Committee of Disabled Persons’ Struggle (SEAAAN) of the Unified Association of Parents & Guardians of People with Disabilities of Attica & Islands were also present. They raised the issue of Special Schools in Athens and the urgent need for a school for children who have been left without schooling and are forced to be accommodated in schools located far from their homes.
The parents expressed intense concern and openly criticized the lack of progress on the matter. All factions agreed on the seriousness of the issue and its urgency. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas proposed, and it was agreed, that a meeting be immediately arranged with KTYP (Building Infrastructure Company), with the presence of all factions and parent representatives, to address the issue and find a building and a solution promptly.
