Decision on hours allowed for music in town still to be taken
CORFU. Awaiting the official announcement of the conditions required for initiating the process of changing the governing regulation.
The incident involving the arrest of business owners on charges of violating music curfew regulations has dramatically brought the issue back into the spotlight. It also flooded social media accounts that posted about it with comments from both sides.
The event triggered further developments, such as meetings between those involved and the mayor and his associates, with the aim of ending the "state of war" that is poisoning life in the town and has turned the situation into a public scandal across Greece. Interest from various tourist destinations in the issue was confirmed through numerous phone calls and media reports in national outlets.
It seems that the idea of extending the music curfew in the town — under certain conditions — has matured. This was the outcome of a meeting led by Mayor Stefanos Poulimenos with the administration of the local hospitality business association. Specifically, and as relayed to Enimerosi by both the mayor and the president of the hospitality businesses association, Vassilakis, the municipal leadership is willing to extend the music hours provided that the police guarantee they will monitor the volume levels to ensure they stay within the legal limits.
In fact, this condition was discussed between the mayor and the Chief of Police, Spyros Skolarikis, on Sunday. He accepted the challenge, giving assurance that the police are capable of carrying out these volume checks.
Following this, an official announcement is expected at a meeting of all parties involved, which will kick off the process of amending the regulation that also governs music hours. This means the matter will be introduced for decision-making at the Local Council of Corfu residents. Then, its decision will be put to public consultation for two weeks, after which it will go to the Municipal Committee for discussion and voting, and finally to the main Municipal Council for a final decision on a controlled extension of music hours in the town — under conditions.
The specifics of what "controlled" means in this context remain open to negotiation. Will the curfew be extended to midnight? Or 1 a.m., during the summer months?
Asked about this by Enimerosi, Mayor Stefanos Poulimenos stressed the importance of meeting the required conditions, with the cooperation of businesses and proper monitoring of noise pollution by the police. Otherwise, the process to revert to the current, stricter curfew limits will be reopened.
GIORGOS KATSAITIS
