The Kyiv City Council, together with campaigners, opposed the renewal of the lease agreement for one of the eco-park’s plots, covering an area of 22 hectares. However, on Thursday, 3 September, the court ruled that their arguments were insufficient. Half of the plot — consists of a lake and small bodies of water. Furthermore, the area left to the developer is a candidate for inclusion in the Emerald Network.
This was reported by the NGO ‘Ecopark Osokorky’.
One of the grounds that should have served as a basis for refusing the developer’s application was the tenant’s systematic failure to pay rent for the use of the land plots. As recently as August, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Economic Security Bureau forced Kontaktbudservice LLC, a company linked to the developer Stolitsa Group, to pay 132 million hryvnias in land tax.
The threat of losing a natural treasure
Supporters of the eco-park point out that its territory is a candidate for inclusion in the Emerald Network. This is a European network that brings together areas of particular conservation importance.
The value of the sites at risk of development has been confirmed by scientific research carried out by both institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and international organisations.
"We are well aware of what might await them once the area has been built on. We are already seeing attempts by the Stolitsa Group to encroach on Nebrezh. And what will happen then to the small bodies of water, which are much easier to fill in and build on? Particularly in the context of the climate crisis, prolonged droughts, water shortages and the rapid depletion of natural water resources, the city cannot afford to lose water bodies and natural areas for the sake of yet more square metres", — the civil society organisation emphasises.
The community acknowledges that it has lost yet another battle in the fight for this valuable land, but has no intention of giving up. The campaigners plan to explore new legal and civil society mechanisms to defend the eco-park in Osokorky.
As a reminder, in June the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in favour of Stolitsa Group.
Activists have been campaigning since 2015 for the creation of a large recreational area in Osokorky. It is already partially protected under nature conservation status.
Previously, EcoPolitic reported that, according to activists, the construction company Stolitsa Group had seized part of the lakeside area of Lake Nebrezh, fencing it off.
