The chief architect of Mykolaiv did not know that 182 oak trees were to be demolished for a petrol station near «Zorya»: «This is absurd»

The chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, expressed surprise that almost two hundred perennial oak trees are to be demolished on the land plot, part of the green zone opposite the «Zorya»-«Mashproekt» plant, to build a petrol station.

He said this on Friday, 9 May, during his briefing at the Mykolaiv City Hall, answering questions from journalists «NikVesti ».

The chief architect of Mykolaiv says he did not know about the plans to demolish oak trees to build a petrol station, photo by NikVesti

As you know, preparatory work for the construction of a petrol station «OKKO» and shops has begun in the Ingul district of Mykolaiv. The site is located at the intersection of Bohoyavlenskyi Avenue and Kobera Street - in the green zone between high-rise buildings and the territory of the state-owned enterprise «Zorya»-«Mashproekt». On 7 May, the contractor and a representative of the State Environmental Inspectorate inspected the site. According to estimates, 182 trees - mostly oak trees aged 40-60 years - are to be destroyed for the project.

Environmentalists have marked with paint the trees that are to be cut down according to the development plan, screenshot from the Suspilne Mykolaiv TV programme

Yevhen Poliakov said that he did not agree to the felling of oak trees on this site, but rather demanded that the tenant plant an additional 57 trees, and this, he said, was recorded in the lease agreement. In addition, the chief architect of Mykolaiv assures that the company «Svitlo Zdorovya» has no right «to take actions that will change the environmental situation», despite the fact that the very fact of building a petrol station will already affect the environmental situation there.

- The Department of Architecture has not and will not approve the dismantling of any trees. On the contrary, the documents we provided to the tenant included a requirement to plant 57 additional trees. He has obligations set out in the contract. It states that he should not take actions that will lead to a change in the environmental situation and comply with environmental issues and legislation in this area. If there are any cases of dismantling, we will apply to the authorities that are provided for. We will contact our legal department if the terms of the contract are violated," said Yevgeny Polyakov.

He stated that he did not know about the developer's intentions to demolish the trees.

- "When I saw the news that 187 60-80-year-old oak trees would be cut down, I was very surprised because I did not know about this situation. Ecologists came out and made an inventory of the existing trees so that the developer could then carry out the procedure: what can and cannot be done," said Yevgeny Polyakov.

The construction general plan of the territory. On the drawing, red crosses indicate trees to be demolished, there are 130 of them on the diagram, but on site during the survey with ecologists, 182 trees were marked on the site and 11 more trees outside it, a photo by NikVesti from the construction project

According to him, the land plot was given to the developer only because 11 years ago he registered ownership of an unfinished building there - the «sports and recreation centre» building, which he managed to build before the land lease agreement was terminated.

- In the past, many land plots were cut up within this area. We cancelled some of the land plots, where there were no capital facilities and no registered real estate, so that they would never be changed. Private property was registered on this plot, and it was not challenged or cancelled. If it hadn't been there, it would have been impossible to allocate the land plot to anyone now," said the director of the Mykolaiv City Council's architecture department.

Responding to the journalist's remark that the court was actually considering a claim by the Mykolaiv City Council to return the land plot to the city and cancel the right of state registration for the property, Yevhen Polyakov said he was not familiar with the case.

- As for the documents prepared and adopted by the city council, you are correct, a decision was made to change the designated purpose. It concerned the land plot on which the real estate was registered. The change took place on the basis of a decision they made to approve a decision on a detailed plan that was made before the war, a decision to develop it," said Yevhen Poliakov.

An oak grove at the intersection of Bohoyavlenskyi Avenue and Kobera Lane, where a petrol station is to be built, photo by NikVesti

A year ago, the city council initially approved the actual renewal of the lease agreement for a 7,643 square metre land plot to the Lviv-based company «Svit Zdorovia», formally for the construction of a sports and recreation centre and maintenance of administrative buildings. Two months after this decision, the city council approved a change in the designated purpose of the land plot to accommodate and operate road service facilities. Both issues were submitted to the session in the «package» with other land issues and were adopted without discussion.

The chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, was unable to answer the question «NikVesti » about his personal attitude to the construction of a petrol station in this green zone.

- I believe that... Well, first of all, the answer to this will be given by the procedures that are regulated, by the experts who work with this, and by the people who are responsible for this... I can say for sure that 187 trees there cannot be demolished. This is absurd," said Yevhen Polyakov.

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Answering the journalist's clarifying question about whether public hearings should be held on the construction of a petrol station there, the official said that the petrol station is a high-risk facility, and therefore public hearings are a prerequisite.

Earlier, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Senkevych , responded to the scandal over the construction of a petrol station in the green zone and instructed his subordinates to prepare a report.

Scandalous construction in Ingul district

The story around the construction on Kobera Street began in 2014. At that time, the company «Svit Zdorovya» received a land plot near «Zorya»-«Mashproekt» to build a sports and recreation complex. Some of the trees on the territory were cut down back then.

In March 2014, the then acting mayor, Yuriy Granaturov, publicly acknowledged during a meeting of the city executive committee that the situation raised many questions and stated that construction was suspended until the feasibility of the project was clarified. Nevertheless, according to local residents, work continued, mostly at night.

In January 2015, the conflict escalated. Residents of houses located on Kobera Street and employees of the plant «Zorya»-«Mashproekt», came out to protest. They claimed that a petrol station was being built on the site of the complex, despite the fact that according to the documents, it was supposed to be a health centre. According to them, construction continued at night despite a ban from the city council. They complained about the cutting down of about 100 trees in the park area, trenches in their yards and the disruption of the ecological balance in the industrial area.

As early as 28 January 2015, Mykolaiv City Council refused to extend the lease of the land plot to «Svit Zdorovye».