Businesses meeting with mayor to find park solution

The management of the park has turned into a tangled affair. Today, businesses are meeting with the mayor, saying they feel misled. They began the season on the strength of his promise that at least 100 sq.m. of outdoor seating would be allowed. With only 45 sq.m. ultimately approved, they argue their businesses are no longer viable.

Tensions escalated further when the Forestry Department filed a complaint against the mayor, accusing him of unlawfully granting permits even for the 45 sq.m., citing the regulation in force since 2016. It is now demanding the complete removal of all tables and chairs.

As a result, the mayor — who has informed the local Catering Union that he now faces prosecution — appears to be backtracking. The revised regulation was withdrawn from the Municipal Committee’s agenda, a move that has also triggered protests from the residents’ association.

Yet, the Forestry Department’s “zero-tolerance proposal” does not align with the residents’ association, which has expressed satisfaction with the current 45 sq.m. limit. The Municipality, for its part, argues that the Forestry Department had already approved the par’s redevelopment plan, under which existing seating areas were left untouched and preserved with their original dimensions. A walk through the site, they say, confirms this.

Despite the mayor’s earlier assurances of a 100 sq.m. allowance, municipal crews in August enforced the old but still valid regulation, recording violations beyond 45 sq.m. and imposing heavy fines. At the same time, the Forestry Department insists that even those permits contravene forest law.

Meanwhile, both the Regional Authority and the Municipality showcased the park’s redevelopment as a “showcase project” during a recent visit by a delegation of Members of the European Parliament.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS