Let me describe today as a special day. The intervention, which is presented today, in the heart of Nicosia, in the core of the urban centre and the walled city, is a holistic, strategic intervention with a specific target.
The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and all relevant departments, prioritised from the very beginning the revitalisation of Nicosia within the walls as a strategic development objective. We have therefore elaborated a set of actions which, as you will see, complement each other in order to comprehensively address the challenges of the process of revitalizing the historic centre.
Challenges which extend beyond the usual and formal degradation of historic towns and the necessity to address the consequences of the division of the capital due to the occupation.
I will not dwell on the challenges, because we are already experiencing them. I will dwell on the actions required, additional to the plan, to manage the problem. Actions that require continuity in time and consistency.
The President of the Republic himself, the Government as a whole, as well as the Ministry of Interior, have for years supported with active interventions the efforts of the Nicosia Municipality for infrastructure development, improvement of the built environment and revitalization of Nicosia within the walls.
In this effort we have used tools such as Community funds, both from the previous and the new programming period, but also a number of infrastructure projects through the State Budget, most notably the Green Line Revitalisation Programme, which will be reviewed and re-tendered.
With the policies we are presenting today, we are attempting a medium to long-term holistic intervention, with a five-year horizon, but which will be activated immediately in order to maximise their impact, particularly towards improving the built environment.
Considering that the responsibility, the obligation and the effort to reverse the deforestation of the city does not only belong to the State.
Considering that the responsibility, the obligation and the effort to reverse the deforestation of the city does not only belong to the State. Through our proposals, we give a role and a voice to the municipality, the citizens, but also to the owners.
Therefore, along with the incentives offered, which are a reward for the positive contribution of citizens, we expect that the municipality of the capital will also contribute with its active participation in the enforcement of control for the removal and suppression of illegalities, but also the removal of incompatible uses.
An additional urban planning tool that will be activated concerns the proper maintenance of unused properties and dangerous buildings.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Nicosia within the walls is the core of the urban centre and is spatially, functionally and symbolically linked to its outskirts.
It is for this reason that the administrative centre of the capital, apart from what we are presenting today, will be further strengthened by the upgrading of the Archministry area with the construction of the new administration buildings of the Ministries of Interior, Justice and Transport.
In addition, in close cooperation with the Nicosia Municipality, the functionality and connectivity of the western and eastern ends of the city will be improved, with the extension of the linear park of the Pediaios River.
All these urban planning tools will frame and shield the new policies that we are announcing today.
So what are these new policies?
- As a complement to the Student Accommodation Grants Scheme, presented by the Minister of Finance, we have developed a "Grants Scheme for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship", aimed at the activation and upgrading of existing and new businesses in the region.
The object of the Plan is to provide incentives in the form of government sponsorship. This scheme, which will be launched immediately from next May, will be financed with €10 million from the State budget, with an indicative amount of €2 million per year, or until the available amount is exhausted.
The amount of the contribution will be 60% of the eligible expenditure and will cover building works, electromechanical works, studies and part of the equipment, with a maximum financial assistance of €80,000 per project.
Beneficiaries will be enterprises which are either owners and/or tenants of buildings, with an obligation to use their renovated premises for at least five years. This Scheme will be in force until the end of 2026.
In addition to the financial support provided by the Entrepreneurship Enhancement Scheme, through a package of urban incentives and regulations, there are also significant opportunities to enrich, strengthen and revitalise the Nicosia Centre Area.
These incentives include inter alia. Provided, that the new development be implemented within four years of the granting of a Planning Permit and, an aged building is considered to be one that was erected prior to 1980 and whose maintenance or rehabilitation is deemed unsustainable and economically unviable. [/LIST]
- Second important incentive: the exemption or even reduction of parking indication requirements. This incentive which will also be in place until 2026 also provides for:
i. Exemption from the requirement to indicate parking spaces for new permitted developments resulting from the rehabilitation and/or reuse of buildings, as well as new buildings in pedestrianised areas, while,
ii. A reduction in parking space requirements of up to 60% is proposed for existing buildings;
iii. Finally, always referring to parking spaces, we reduce the price of their acquisition by 70%, which gives a huge financial help to those who choose to invest.
- A third and not at all desirable incentive concerns the increase to 10% of the coverage rate where and where a total rehabilitation of a remarkable building takes place when this, among other things, includes the integration of modern energy-saving provisions.
- A third and not at all desirable incentive concerns the increase to 10% of the coverage rate where and where a total rehabilitation of a remarkable building takes place when this, among other things, includes the integration of modern energy-saving provisions.
I note that buildings will be classified as "noteworthy" by a four-member committee, chaired by a representative of the Nicosia Municipality with the participation of representatives of the Department of Town Planning and Zoning, the Department of Antiquities and ETEK.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our intention, apart from granting generous benefits and incentives, is to facilitate the applicants, but also to speed up the licensing procedures, with a more flexible licensing framework, in case of reuse of buildings for the creation of student residences, creative businesses, but also affordable professional housing, in order to serve the main purpose of the Plan.
It also promotes the transfer of a building factor from notable buildings built before 1960, and later if they are rehabilitated.
Particularly with regard to licensing times, in addition to the New Fast Licensing Framework, which is already in place and will be extended in the coming months to more complex developments, the Ministry of Interior is creating a separate fast licensing mechanism for Student Residences within the Department of Planning and Zoning, which is also the implementing body of the Plan.
In addition, we are initiating a discussion with the Nicosia Municipality to expedite the procedures for the examination of planning applications relating specifically to listed buildings, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Local Authority.
Listed and notable buildings are irrevocably the architectural heritage of the built environment of the walled city of Nicosia and are the ones that shape the distinctive character of the old city. Despite the fact that the Conservation Plans that have been in operation to date are extremely generous, it is our finding that most of the owners do not make use of them and do not proceed with the restoration of these buildings.
By studying the issue and through a comparative analysis, it was found that the value of land in the walled city of Nicosia appears significantly lower than in the corresponding historic centres of other cities. As a result, the owners of listed buildings in the centre of the old town of Nicosia benefit less than in the corresponding areas of other cities, in relation to the possibility of selling gifted and residual building rates.
In order to deal with this phenomenon we have therefore proceeded to formulate an additional incentive, which provides for an increase of the maximum gift factor for listed buildings from 50% to 70%, but also an increase by 0.40:1 of the maximum permissible building ratio for all listed buildings. These benefits will be transferable for the benefit of owners in receptor areas. This incentive will also apply until the end of 2026.
We believe that these incentives, which will be assessed on an ongoing basis to prevent potential distortions in the market, added to those mentioned above, will make the incentive package even more attractive.
The Home Office wants to enable the greatest number of owners of notable buildings to benefit. It is for this reason that we will immediately proceed to declare all notable buildings listed, including newer ones. In this way, it is estimated that in addition to the approximately 800 existing listed buildings, another 500 additional buildings will be declared.
Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior, fully committed to the conservation policy, will submit to the Council of Ministers a proposal for a revision of the Incentive Plan for the Restoration of Listed Buildings, which will include, among other things, an increase in the amount of the grant, both for direct intervention work and for overall restoration, as well as an increase in the recognised cost per square metre. The amount of the contribution and the selection criteria will be the same as the current Housing Plan.
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Action Plan that my colleague the Minister of Finance and I have presented is not static. It is dynamic and timeless. It is still holistic and will be constantly evolving, upgraded and enriched to address the great challenge called the revitalization of Nicosia within its walls.
Today we are at the starting point of the realization of a vision and a decades-old grandiose goal. The removal of the depopulation of the historic centre of Nicosia.
On this starting point, all those who believed in the necessity and importance of the project are gathered. Starting with the President of the Republic who adopted and supported our effort, our colleague the Minister of Finance, all our partners in the Ministries of Finance and Interior, the Mayor and the members of the Nicosia Municipal Council, ETEK and the Planning Council.
Allow me to thank separately the Director of the Planning and Zoning Department, Mr Kyriakos Koundouros and the Senior Planning Officers, Ms Irini Hadjisavva and Ms Yola Kouros, who, together with Ms Patrina Taramidou and Ms Elena Patsalou on behalf of the Ministry of Interior, did an excellent job.
The team of the Department of Urban Planning and Housing will be at everyone's disposal for additional information through the creation of an Information Office, as well as a specialised lifeline, and will also undertake the training of designers for the proper restoration of buildings and the preparation of specific guidelines.
I thank them all and each of them individually.
Dear Mayor, the government of President Anastasiades, in practice, not only stands by the city of Nicosia, but puts into practice what for decades has remained a dream of a summer night.
We are transforming and revitalizing the historic centre and reinventing the city we all envision.
Thank you.
For a presentation see. here.
(EΦυς)
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