Uzhgorod city council declares their opposition to the construction in the green zone near the Music and Drama Theater

The first step of Uzhgorod local authorities to legally stop the construction, that has begun near the Regional Music and Drama Theater in Uzhgorod and caused outrage among the city residents, was the abolition of the city planning conditions and restrictions for the development of this land granted by the previous government last year, Uzhgorod city council informs on its page on Facebook.

The decision of the executive committee was based on the fact that the city planning conditions and restrictions did not comply with the then Master Plan (revision of 2004), which defined that area as a green zone of common use. Under the existing Master Plan of Uzhgorod, adopted in 2016, the site also belongs to recreational zones of public green areas and amenities.

Uzhgorod city government also appealed to the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate of Ukraine and the Office of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate in Transcarpathia with the request to cancel the declaration of the commencement of construction.

Also a lawsuit was filed to recognize illegal the decision approving the list of sites (including the one in question) redeemable by auction. By the relevant decision, as a provisional remedy, the court forbade the developers to carry out any work in this area until the case is resolved.

The Mayor Bohdan Andriyiv instructed to find other, additional mechanisms to prevent carrying out any work in this controversial area. Then, following the analysis by the department of city planning and architecture, they will prepare the draft decision of the session on the development of a detailed plan for the entire area around the Regional Music and Drama Theater within Tolstoy Street, Kyivska Embankment and the Mostovy Lane.

The detailed plan approval procedure includes public discussion, which will enable all concerened Uzhgorod residents to take part in drafting of a detailed plan taking into account the public interest.

The Mayor of Uzhgorod Bohdan Andriyiv says: the city government supports the residents in their fight against construction in the area near the Regional Music and Drama Theater and will use all legal mechanisms to preserve the recreational green zone there.