Milena Apostolaki, a PASOK MP for North Athens, has submitted a parliamentary question to Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou on the government’s plan to create Building Coefficient Reception Zones, which could allow up to 584,400 square metres of additional construction in North Athens.
The MP backs the calls by six municipalities for the relevant Strategic Environmental Impact Study to be withdrawn. She points to the inadequate justification for the plan, the absence of a comprehensive assessment of the areas’ carrying capacity, and the risk of further straining infrastructure and undermining residents’ quality of life.
“Protecting the residential environment is a constitutional obligation of the state. The transfer of building rights cannot become a mechanism for uncontrolled increases in construction, without local government and local communities having a say,” Milena Apostolaki says.
In her question, she asks the minister to clarify whether he intends to withdraw the study and review the plan in cooperation with the municipalities, and to present the scientific and urban-planning studies that substantiate the scope for such extensive additional construction.