Ayios Ermogenis exposes both the British bases and the Republic

By Efi Xanthou

When the first photos from the “renovation” of a restaurant on Ayios Ermogenis beach in the Kourion area started to circulate last month, most were appalled by the sheer scale of the building. No logical person would consider that the work done on that building was in any way a renovation.

So how is it possible that the people inspecting the ongoing would think so? And I’m not only talking about the government or base authorities, I’m also asking about the architect and civil engineer also, who have legal responsibilities too. I guess we all know the answer to that: they didn’t.

As far as I could make out from the House environment committee meeting held on the subject, the British Bases gave a permit to the owners of the restaurant to renovate the existing building based on plans submitted, ensuring that they did not build a centimetre more that was built on already. And that was it.

The permit was issued and nobody made sure that construction was done according to the plans submitted. But this question was not asked by anybody in the committee.

The British bases were not represented in the session – they were invited but didn’t turn up – and the representative of the district officer of Limassol spent more time explaining how it’s not their job to issue these permits because of the sovereign status of the bases area.

The Limassol district council was represented by the mayor of Kourion, and they also explained in great detail that there are still many grey zones remaining concerning the relationship and responsibilities of the Republic of Cyprus and the British bases concerning very concrete problems that nobody seems to want to deal with since 1960 when the treaties were signed.

We had a very informative presentation from the department of public works that explained the principles of coastal engineering and how solid structures on the beach are a no-go, and we had a historical presentation on how the beach area a little further up was interfered with from a dubious construction company in the 70’s, so they could illegally remove sand from the sea and beach for construction purposes.

The authorities put an end to this in the late 80’s but the damage to the beach was not restored, so the ensuing erosion still continues to this day.

But what nobody touched upon was who exactly was responsible to ensure that the renovation was done according to the plans submitted.

Every authority represented in that room was too busy explaining how they were not responsible for the decision taken to grant a permit to the particular restaurant owner, and how the British bases would be infringing his rights if they had refused him the permit, but nobody told us about after the permit was issued.

So I take it upon myself to illuminate this particular aspect, interpreting the jargon used in the session. As far as I understood from the representative of the interior ministry, the responsibility for monitoring the legal framework application of building permits was seconded to the Republic of Cyprus and, after the local government reform came into effect on July 1, 2024, the respective responsibilities for town planning permits were split between the town planning department and the district councils.

So, in the case of the restaurant of Ayios Ermogenis, which was issued in 2021, the responsible authority was the district officer of Limassol (you only need a building permit for a renovation) and, after July 1, 2024, the district council of Limassol.

As simple (or as complicated) as that.

I find it fascinating how our country still lets the responsible people in the responsible institutions get away with not doing their job. It’s a grey area with multiple responsible authorities, so nobody takes the initiative, and nobody is to blame when something turns sour.

If you want to know how this issue will become even more convoluted, wait until they finish the “renovation” and they have to file for a liquor license from the Kourion municipality.

According to the law the municipalities can only issue these licenses to businesses that are operating in a building that has a final permit, that ensures that it was constructed/renovated according to the plans submitted (good luck with that dear restaurant owner!).

We will be waiting to see how this all turns out, but we have to admit that the damage is done. The restaurant has built a 2,3-metre sheer wall on the beach front, forcing beach goers to avoid it by either entering the water or bypassing it from the side of the road.

The sheer intensity of the waves breaking onto it will slowly but steadily damage it and we will be left with an abandoned structure in the middle of the beachfront, since the beach is gently being eroded for decades now.

And we as environmental activists will continue to insist that laws are abided by and responsible authorities are forced to account for their lack of supervision and not assuming responsibility. For as long as it takes to fix this.

Efi Xanthou is the secretary-general of the Cyprus Ecological