Mykolaiv residents ask Ministry of Economy to ban construction of petrol station in park near «Zoria»

In Mykolaiv, 182 trees are to be demolished for the construction of a petrol station and a car shop. Photo: NikVesti

Residents of Mykolaiv are trying to prevent the construction of a petrol station in the green zone in the Ingul district of Mykolaiv. They addressed the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine with a collective letter in which they protested against the construction of a new petrol station complex by PLC «Svit Zdorovia».

The letter is available at NikVesti.

As a reminder, the Ministry of Economy is currently holding repeated public discussions on the construction of the petrol station. The public discussion will last until 10 November.

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Residents of the neighbourhood and employees of «Zoria»-«Mashproekt» oppose the felling of 182 oak trees that are part of the green protection zone near the industrial enterprise.

«On 02 July 2025, public hearings were held in Mykolaiv in Zoom format on the construction of a petrol station in the green zone at Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue on the corner of Kobera Street, which will lead to the demolition of 182 oak trees. Citizens, environmentalists, and representatives of the Mykolaiv Regional Council who took part in the conference opposed this construction and called on the prosecutor's office to pay attention to this facility,» the letter says.

The community's appeal also states that the notification of the start of the planned activity published in the Unified Register of Environmental Impact Assessment contains inaccurate information. In particular, it refers to the absence of valuable green spaces and negative environmental impact. However, as the residents emphasise, a preliminary environmental impact assessment has already been carried out and did not receive a positive conclusion.

The community document also emphasises that

• the territory of the future development is located in the sanitary zone of the plant «Zoria»-«Mashproekt»;
• municipal engineering networks — water supply, sewerage, electrical cables — are located within the site, and the issue of engineering support for the planned facility has not been resolved;
• there are already two petrol stations in the vicinity, and the construction of a third one nearby is excessive;
• the new petrol station will pose an increased fire hazard due to the storage of fuel in tanks near the sports complex attended by children.

Residents recall that attempts to build a petrol station in this location were made back in 2014, but due to community protests, the city council refused to extend the land lease to the developer.

They also reminded that in May this year they collected 512 signatures under an appeal to the mayor of the city, Oleksandr Sienkevych, and spoke out against the construction.

People are asking not to issue a positive environmental impact assessment for the planned activities of «Svit Zdorovia» and to preserve the green zone.

The company in question is «Svit Zdorovia», which wants to build a petrol station between high-rise buildings and the territory of the State Enterprise «Zoria»-«Mashproekt». In the environmental impact assessment report, the developer emphasises that modern petrol stations are not just about fuel, but about driver comfort. In addition to the new petrol station, the plans include the construction of a shop and service space for drivers and passengers. However, they will be built in the second phase. The petrol station itself will employ 19 people.

It should be noted that the previous public hearings were held online. At that time, participants criticised the environmental impact assessment report and accused the developer's representatives of plagiarism.

The chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Polyakov, also criticised the developer. Although he had previously expressed surprise that almost two hundred perennial oak trees were planned to be demolished on the land plot. Yevhen Polyakov stated that he did not agree to the felling of oaks on this plot, but rather demanded that the tenant plant an additional 57 trees, which, according to him, was stipulated in the lease agreement. In addition, the chief architect of Mykolaiv assures that the company «Svitlo Zdorovia» 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.

Details of the scandalous construction in Inhulskyi district

The story surrounding the construction on Kobera Street began in 2014. At that time, the company «Svit Zdorovia» received a land plot near «Zoria»-«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, Yurii Hranaturov, 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 «Zoria»-«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.

Already on 28 January 2015, Mykolaiv City Council refused to extend the lease of the land plot to «Svitlo Zdorovia».

A year ago, the city council initially approved the actual renewal of the lease agreement for a 7,643 square metre land plot to Lviv-based «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 land plot's designated purpose to placement and operation of road service facilities. Both issues were submitted to the session in the «package» with other land issues and were adopted without discussion.

Local residents in their comments to NikVesti say that there were no public hearings on the development of this land plot and they have not heard about them. They recalled that even before the full-scale invasion, they had already tried to build a petrol station in this area, and managed to stop the project.

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