Rejections of tourism investments in Paros and Crete - No to swimming pools overlooking Mount Giuchtas with the "face" of Zeus

The competent authorities have taken decisions to reject the implementation of investments in Paros and Crete.

Specifically:

• The Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades decided in favor of not approving a study for the construction of a new 5-star hotel complex, of the type of independent rental villas with swimming pools, on a property owned by the company Megaron Properties IKE, in the location of Kastra, Marpissa, Paros, and in favor of submitting a modified study, but without the construction of caves, with a series of conditions in order to limit the total volume of the buildings and the interventions in the natural relief of the site.

The Ephorate notes that the paved surfaces, swimming pools, and elements that increase the volume of the complex should be limited and eliminated. Also, the possibility of grouping the parking spaces in a suitable point on the plot should be examined. The conditions include the non-construction of a car traffic axis in the center of the plot, the non-construction of closed courtyards and the absence of stairs to the roofs, as they are not an element of the architecture of Paros. Following these, a new modified study must be submitted.

• The Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania has decided not to approve a request for the construction of two two-story buildings, which include four independent tourist residences, owned by Mr. Emmanuel and Mr. Theodoros Ligopsychakis, in the off-plan location of “Koutri” and within the B’ protection zone of the archaeological site of Falasarna, because the possibility of building on the property is not documented, as it lacks a face on a recognized public road.
• The General Directorate of Mineral Raw Materials of the Ministry of Environment and Energy rejected a request by Mr. Konstantinos Troulis regarding the limitation of the distance for the establishment of a hotel at the location "XYLOFOROS", less than 1,000 meters from the boundaries of the quarry area "LATZIMA 1", of the Local Community of Prinos, the Municipal Unit of Arkadi, the Municipality of Rethymno, as the said establishment is not among the activities permitted to be established from the boundaries of the existing quarry area Latzimas Rethymno.
• Meanwhile, the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion, although it approved the request of Mrs. Ioanna - Euphrosyne Mylogianni for the construction of three new ground-floor residences with warehouses on a property owned by her, on Kontocha Street, at the location "Sochora" or "Chasa", within the limits of the settlement of Ano Archanes, rejected the request for the construction of the three swimming pools.

The Ephorate rejected the construction of the swimming pools, taking into account the location of the property within the settlement of Ano Archanes, namely in proximity and two-way visual contact with the part of it declared as an archaeological site and traditional settlement, in proximity and direct visual contact with Mount Giuchta, as well as in an area that is additionally protected as a place of particular natural beauty, where the construction of the swimming pools is not appropriate, as their construction will add to the environment of the declared archaeological sites an element "foreign" to them, and a use that is not in harmony with the character of both the settlement and the wider area, which has maintained its rural character to this day.

Furthermore, it points out that they will constitute a binding precedent for approval for the ever-increasing requests for the construction of swimming pools, for private and tourist exploitation, resulting in the alteration of the surrounding area and the archaeological site of one of the most important archaeological areas of Crete with a multitude of ancient monuments and sites.

• From the website of the show "Time Machine" | Giuchtas, the sacred mountain of the Minoans in the form of Zeus is called. It is located 15 kilometers south of Heraklion, full of myths, mysteries and beliefs, which have followed it since antiquity and stem from its unique natural shape that strongly resembles a human face. The myth wants to be of Zeus....