By Bejay Browne.
Prefabricated buildings which have been placed at a designated bathing beach in Kissonerga by a nearby hotel have prompted a raft of complaints from environmentalists.
“As Greens we don’t accept any sort of intervention on the beaches and such things need to be removed,” a spokesman for the Paphos branch said, speaking to the Paphos Post.
The prefabricated buildings have been placed on the beach by a nearby hotel, the Atlantica, Golden Beach, which won a tender from Kissonerga community council to operate the beach facilities as the area is a designated bathing area, according to the local community leader George Stylianou.
“The Atlantica hotel won the competition to operate the beach here for five years. It is a legal and designated bathing area and these facilities are part of the requirements to run the beach. They have to be there,” Stylianou told the Paphos Post.
Although the situation first came to light last year, according to the Greens, it was brought to the fore again after the Environment Commissioner, Klelia Vasiliou, posted photographs on her Facebook page showing the installation of the structures, taken by a concerned citizen who made a complaint to her office, she noted.
The commissioner stated that she had contacted the Paphos District Office to examine the situation and consider alternatives.
Stipulations in place mean that the structures must be moveable and taken away as soon as the contract period has ended, the local community leader noted.
The prefabricated buildings fit that criteria and they were built elsewhere and lifted into place on the beach, he said.
“They are easily transferable,” he added.
However, the Paphos Greens said that they informed Stylianou six months ago that they ‘would not accept’ any such structures on the seafront, and that local authorities and businesses all over Cyprus are using the economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse for such behaviours.
“We can’t allow such things to happen, there are always alternatives, but Mr Stylianou said it’s not his responsibility but that of the Paphos district office” the Greens spokesman said.
Residents have also raised concerns about waste seeping into the sea or contaminating the beach area, as well as the aesthetics.
“This is a lovely area and these buildings are an eyesore. I don’t know how they are allowed to be here and where will all of the waste water go,” a local resident said.
However, Stylianou noted that any waste generated by beachgoers using the facilities will be pumped back to the hotel and then onto Sapa, the sewerage operators, he noted.
“No waste at all will be pumped into the sea,” he said.
“If anything is illegal at this spot, then the appropriate authorities such as the Paphos district office or town planning, will be informed and they will deal with it,” he said.
He added that income generated from the winning tender would give the community board an income of €58,000 a year.
“Times are very difficult for everyone and this money is a very important source of income for us,” he said.
