Our View: Is govt being outwitted by NIMBYs?

Choosing a site for the new central prison is proving rather challenging for the government, which has made the matter more difficult by the slapdash decisions it has taken. The first site chosen for the prison facility was in Mathiatis, but people of the area immediately expressed their opposition. The so-called Mathiatis historical and environmental heritage protection group was up in arms, saying the plan was ‘unacceptable’ for an “environmentally sensitive and culturally sensitive area” like theirs. Apart from the environmental reasons, there were also “archaeological, urban and special planning reasons” for opposing the project, the protection group said. It appeared the environmental and cultural sensitivity combined with archaeological and urban reasons did the trick.

Within days, the government announced that the prison would be built in another location – Ayios Sozomenos in the municipal area of South Nicosia-Idalion. As expected, the news was not welcomed by the local authority. In fact, they had an additional complaint. Both the mayors of South Nicosia-Idalion and of Latsia-Yeri complained they were informed about the new government plan by news websites. Nobody had consulted them in advance. Speaking on Politis radio, South Nicosia-Idalion mayor Stavros Hadjiyiannis said the Ayios Sozomenos area was designated as a livestock farming zone and pointed out that the broader area already hosted biological stations, sewage tanks, pig farms and an area for dumping manure. He feared the quality of the air would not be good for the prisoners. More importantly, however, he said residents of the area were upset by the government plan. Hadjiyiannis said the mayors of the two municipalities had written to the president seeking a meeting, while also demanding the…