Well-connected architect may be behind environmental disaster

A private project appropriating a natural waterfall is giving rise to protests by environmentalists who are posting videos of the dried-up riverbed and dead fish floating in the fiddled-with pond, so that a well-connected architect can build his dreamhouse and direct the water to his outdoor jacuzzi.

Environmentalists say the damage has already been done to the waterfall on Kryos Potamos, the Troodos river that has gifted Cyprus with Caledonian and Millomeri falls.

However, they say this will not stop them from doing everything they can to prove the illegality of the project and demand this part of the river – formerly accessible to the public – be restored to its original form.

Cyprus Mail sources said the building belongs to “a very well-known Greek Cypriot architect in Limassol who is very well connected”.

There are no signs at the building site with information about the developer, engineer and architect, which is illegal, the sources said, adding that it was evident that the person building the house knew it was illegal.

The Cyprus Mail furthermore learnt that the building is larger than the one in the blueprints.

The sources pointed out that a complaint has already been filed with the Environment Commissioner’s office.

“It appears to be in a residential area,” Greens member Efi Xanthou said.

She said the Greens protested when the works began, but the building had been approved by the Department of Town Planning and Housing.

The Water Development Department (WDD) had said the building must be at least five metres away from the river, a clause that has apparently not been adhered to, Xanthou added.

“We will make a formal complaint to the WDD asking that they look into it,” Xanthou added.

However, it may be too late.

“The damage has already been done,” Xanthou explained.

Videos on Facebook show the diverted river, the now shallow pond, rubbish in the water and dead fish that could not survive in those conditions.

“The ‘gift’ is that the previous and current interior ministers announced measures to simplify procedures for building a house up to three floors and this is the result. The area has been ruined,” Xanthou said.

She added that the movement will now be filing complaints left, right and centre because “enough is enough”.

“I will demand that the river is restored to its original state,” she added.

The Platres complex of communities should appoint a technician to investigate and follow up on new developments, she proposed.

The posts on social media also showed the foundations for an outdoor jacuzzi, a pathway where the original riverbed used to be and fences cutting off public access to the natural waterfall.

Someone building a three-story house there with saunas, exploiting the natural water, when it is forbidden to use surface water, should be investigated, she added.

Limassol and Paphos coordinator for Greens, Andreas Evlavis, told the Cyprus Mail that he had been following and protesting the project from the beginning and “the end is tragic”.

“The state departments must work without making exceptions,” Evlavis said.

“This is a very delicate habitat, a riverbed, in which the water, environment and forestry departments should have been involved.”

Evlavis said he has already contacted all three departments.

“The building is taller than it should have been, which is illegal. It is also closer to the river than it ever should have been. The building site is just 100m away from the Natura 2000 protected area,” he added.

Evlavis told the Cyprus Mail that letting this pass would pave the way for others to follow suit.

Kryos Potamos springs from Chionistra – Olympos Mountain – and runs through Platres and other villages all year round, as well as popular Caledonian and Millomeri waterfalls. It then flows into the Kourris delta, forming the Kourris river that then runs into the Kourris dam.