The Akamas Local Plan is prepared in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation and following a decision of the Council of Ministers. The Planning Council, to which the Minister of Interior has delegated its powers in this matter, on the basis of the existing Regulations, has completed the discussion and reached its decisions, which it has forwarded together with the Strategic Environmental Impact Study to the Environmental Authority, from which the final opinion is expected.
We responded to the persistent request of some MPs and political parties to make the Akamas Local Plan public before the completion of the newly approved procedures in a letter on 4 April 2022 to the Home Affairs Committee, informing them that (paragraph 7 of the letter): "having regard to the fact that the final opinion of the Environment Agency on the Local Plan and the provisions of Regulation 15 of the Town and Country Planning (Planning Board) Regulations 1973 and 2003 have not been completed, which provide that the Planning Board is required to deal with matters within its remit in complete confidence, the document requested in this letter is at this stage governed by the above Regulation 15, as it has not yet been submitted to the Secretary of State. We therefore consider that at this stage it is inappropriate to make the Akama Local Plan public/communication, as such an action may call into question the legality of the preparation process."
Therefore, under these circumstances it is at least irresponsible to call for its publication, unless the purpose and aim is to question its legitimacy.
And AKEL's "call" to stop the process of drafting the Akama Plan is just another manifestation of the way in which it engages in politics. We postpone and see.
The government does not adopt similar practices. It operates on the basis of plan and planning. The Planning Board listened to all views. The relevant Ministers made a number of visits, met with organised groups, talked to those affected and visited the area many times. Thus the recommendations were formulated and placed before the competent Environmental Authority, from which we will await the final opinion.
(PM/MB/SX)
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