The Mykolaiv City Council had to go through the courts to recover nearly ₴200 thousand for a plot of land on which a petrol station is to be built in a green space in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv, trees are set to be felled at a petrol station construction site. Photo: NikVesti archive

Mykolaiv City Council has, through the courts, recovered nearly 184,400 hryvnias from the Lviv-based company «Svit Zdorovia» for using a plot of land for four years without a properly registered lease agreement. This concerns the very same plot on the corner of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kober Street, where the company plans to build a petrol station complex, a project which has sparked protests from local residents.

This is stated in a ruling by the South-Western Commercial Court of Appeal.

The dispute concerned a plot of land measuring 7,643 square metres at the corner of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kober Street. According to the information contained in the case file, the plot is home to an unfinished sports and wellness centre, 5 per cent complete, which is owned by the company. As is well known, it is on this very plot of land that «Svit Zdorovia» LLC wishes to build a petrol station. The construction has sparked numerous protests by local residents and environmentalists due to the planned felling of nearly two hundred trees.

As stated in the case file, the land lease agreement expired back in 2015. However, according to the city council, the company continued to use the plot but failed to formalise new documents and did not pay the full amount due for the land.

In October 2025, the city council took the matter to court, seeking to recover 184,400 hryvnias. The city council explained that for the period from 1 January 2020 to 24 April 2024, the company was due to pay nearly 380,000 hryvnias for the use of the land. However, according to the tax authorities, only around 196,000 hryvnias had actually been paid. The city council demanded that the difference — 184,353 hryvnias and 75 kopiikas — be returned to the budget.

In Mykolaiv, trees are set to be felled at the site of a petrol station under construction. Photo: NikVesti archive

In February 2026, the Commercial Court of Mykolaiv region upheld the claim. The court concluded that the company, as the owner of the property, had in fact been using communal land without a formalised leasehold right and must therefore compensate the local authority for the lost revenue.

«The defendant, as the owner of the property, was in fact using a designated plot of communal land without having duly formalised the right of use and without paying rent, as a result of which it unjustifiably retained funds that it was required to pay to the owner of the land plot,» the ruling states.

The company «Svit Zdorovia» appealed against this decision and requested that the city council’s claim be dismissed in its entirety. This is because, in the company’s view, the city council had not provided sufficient evidence to substantiate the correctness of the debt calculation. In particular, it pointed out that a copy of the extract regarding the statutory monetary valuation of the land plot was illegible, making it impossible to verify the accuracy of the charges.

Support those who keep the city informed every day

Club NikVesti — a place where the reader and the editorial team are on the same side.

Members have access to a private chat, an exclusive newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories from journalists, see the news earlier, and influence the changes.

Join us. Together we keep the city bright

One-time support Monthly

€ 1 € 2 € 10

Donate

by phone

---

by card

€ 2

by phone

---

by card

€ 5

by phone

---

by card

€ 10

by phone

---

by card

Secure payment

The recipient of donations is the NGO “Mykolaiv Media Hub” (EDRPOU 45160758). By making a donation, you confirm that the amount is non-refundable and may be used by the NGO to implement its statutory activities, including supporting independent journalism and creating socially significant content. Public offer.

The defendant also argued that the claimant had failed to prove actual use of the land plot. Furthermore, the company noted that during the period in question it had not carried out any business activities on this site, whilst the city council itself had taken no steps to formalise new tenancy arrangements.

The city council refuted these arguments and explained that the standard monetary valuation of the land plot had been determined by a city council decision back in 2019 and had not changed during the period in question, so the calculation was correct.

The decision also states that the court of first instance found that the city council had correctly calculated the amount the company was required to pay for the use of the land plot. The calculation was made on the basis of the statutory monetary valuation of the land and a rent rate of 3 per cent, as determined by the city council’s decision.

The city council emphasised that «Svit Zdorovia» LLC is the owner of an unfinished construction project located on this very plot of land and is therefore its actual user. The appeal court also found the arguments that the city council had submitted a poor-quality copy of the extract regarding the statutory monetary valuation of the land to be unfounded. The court emphasised that the defendant had not provided any evidence that the valuation was incorrect, had not proposed an alternative calculation, and had not even requested an expert assessment.

«The actual user of a plot of land who, without sufficient legal grounds, has retained funds for its use, is obliged to return such funds to the owner of the plot,» the city council stated in its response to the appeal.

In Mykolaiv, trees are set to be felled at the site of a petrol station under construction. Photo: NikVesti archive

The court also took into account the fees the company had already paid for the use of the plot, after which it concluded that an outstanding amount of 184,3 thousand hryvnias remained, which it ordered to be recovered in favour of the city council.

Furthermore, it rejected all arguments put forward by the company «Svit Zdorovia». In particular, the panel of judges did not agree with the assertion that the city council had failed to prove the actual use of the land or had incorrectly determined the plot’s area.

«The lack of evidence of active economic activity on the land plot does not refute the fact of its use, since the obligation to pay land rent is linked by law not only to the conduct of economic activity, but to the actual use of the land plot and the presence of a property on it,» the court noted.

Separately, the court pointed out that even if the unfinished building occupies only part of the land plot, this does not exempt the owner from the obligation to pay for the use of the entire formed plot. This conclusion, the judges noted, is in line with the established practice of the Supreme Court.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the findings of the court of first instance. The panel of judges emphasised that the owner of immovable property situated on a municipal land plot must formalise the right to use the land and pay for its use.

The court also noted that the very fact that the company holds title to the unfinished sports and wellness centre indicates that the land plot is being used.

The scandal surrounding the construction of a petrol station

In the master plan, it is designated as a recreational green area for public use, densely planted with trees and other vegetation. In 2005, the plot was first leased for the construction of a sports and wellness centre. The tenant failed to build the centre for almost 10 years, as local residents were outraged by plans to fell the trees.

The lease term was extended several times. The contract was last valid until 30 January 2015. After that, the lease was not renewed, but «Svit Zdorovia» LLC remained the owner of the unfinished construction project on this site.

In 2024, the city council initially approved the de facto renewal of the lease agreement for a 7,643-square-metre plot of land to the Lviv-based company «Svit Zdorovia», formally for the construction of a sports and wellness centre and the maintenance of administrative buildings. However, just two months after this decision, the city council approved a change in the designated use of the plot to accommodate and operate road service facilities. Both issues were tabled for consideration at the session as part of a ‘package’ with other land-related matters and were adopted without debate.

The Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating possible breaches of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure in a case relating to the project to build a petrol station at the junction of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kober Street in Mykolaiv.

This concerns the activities of «Svit Zdorovia» LLC, for which the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine had previously issued a favourable EIA opinion.

It should be noted that on 1 April, it emerged that «Svit Zdorovia» had, on its third attempt, successfully passed the public hearings and obtained permission to build a petrol station complex with car service shops in the green belt near the «Zoria» factory in Mykolaiv, at the junction of Kober Street and Bohoiavlensky Avenue.

Also in April this year, Mykolaiv’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, refused to answer a question from NikVesti as to whether he supported the construction of a petrol station complex in the green belt on Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue. He emphasised that he was opposed to the felling of trees, but did not state his position on the construction of the petrol station itself.

Local residents held a meeting near the green space at the junction of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kober Street, where the petrol station complex is planned to be built.

Also on that day, the State Environmental Inspectorate carried out a survey of this green space, where the company «Svit Zdorovia» LLC plans to build the petrol station complex.

It should be noted that the environmental impact assessment report (EIA), on the basis of which «Svit Zdorovia» obtained approval to build a petrol station complex in Mykolaiv within the green space near residential buildings opposite the «Zoria»-«Mashproekt» factory, was signed by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Vitalii Kindrativ, who served as Deputy Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration in 2016–2017.

The public prosecutor’s office, however, stated that the Mykolaiv City Council had no right to allocate land for the construction of a petrol station near «Zoria».

In November 2025, readers of NikVesti drew attention to markings on the oak trees and expressed concern that the area might be cleared for the construction of a petrol station. Following this, environmentalists inspected the oak trees along Kober Street in Mykolaiv, near the «Zoria» factory. According to the inspectors’ findings, all the trees are in satisfactory condition, the markings were applied haphazardly, and there are no grounds for felling them.