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Nikolaidis: The issue of dangerous buildings is an emergency, measures are needed

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ΝικολαΙδη&sigma: Eκ τακτη&sigmaf? ων οικοδομоν, χρειαζονται μΕτρα

We are facing a situation of emergency and solutions for the issue of dangerous buildings should be promoted as soon as possible, said the Mayor of Limassol Nikos Nicolaidis, requesting the promotion of updated legislation.

At a press conference, on the occasion of the two incidents of parapet and balcony collapse of apartment buildings, Mr. Nikolaidis warned that what took place last Thursday may be repeated in the near future.

He also mentioned that the majority of the dangerous buildings built after 1974 due to the high demand for refugee housing and for which there was no supervision, regulations were lacking and construction materials of questionable quality.

"These buildings close almost half a century of life. So, we are facing a situation that we have to treat as an emergency,” he said and added that “what we have seen in the last few days is something to be expected, because a period of time is closing and these buildings have aged in to such an extent, that we must expect these cases to appear in the near future».

This emergency situation, he emphasized, must be dealt with by some extraordinary immediate measures and indicated that the revision of the Law on Roads and Buildings and the Law on Real Estate has been pending for years, so that on the one hand the owners are obliged to proceed with repairs and on the other hand , to give increased powers to the Local Authorities to intervene.

In the last decade, he said, the Municipality spent approximately one million euros on repairs of private buildings that had been deemed dangerous, assuming the responsibility of the owners, while in most cases pending payment of costs by the owners. who are then asked to cover the costs.

"There are no margins, the matter must be treated as an immediate priority", he underlined and added that the first thing to be done is to judge the two bills as urgent and forward them for approval by the Parliament

He continued, arms must be given to the State, whether it is the local authorities or the central state, in order for the procedures to move effectively, for the owners to assume their responsibilities, or for the local authorities to intervene and do their work more quickly and more efficiently.

The second thing that should be done, according to Nikos Nikolaidis, "is to acquire from the Municipalities those resources in terms of resources – personnel and financial capabilities – that they can, in case the owners refuse to accept their responsibilities, intervene in order to remove the danger and ensure the safety of the public”.

In particular, regarding the handling of the two incidents of last Thursday, the municipal engineer Antonis Charalambous was mentioned, who said that, in the first case, which involved the fall of a parapet roof in an apartment building in 1979, the danger was immediately removed, noting that "we were surprised that we saw a bad craft that endured for so many years».

According to Mr. Charalambous, the management of the second incident, on the beach of Limassol, was deemed particularly difficult, with the work to remove the danger being completed on Sunday.

The retreat of the balcony, he continued, is attributed to illegal apartment renovation works, despite the fact that the apartment building had been vacated for maintenance work.

As he explained, as the private contractor could not carry out the difficult task of removing the balconies, the Municipality took over the work entirely cutting off nine balconies that were deemed dangerous, using non-impact tools and a special platform.

The project was painful and dangerous for those who worked, he continued, while he characteristically mentioned that a balcony gave way as soon as a worker, who was tied with safety belts, tried to step on it.

More than 500 buildings, the municipal engineer said. , were inspected recently, 350 warning letters were sent, while 100 buildings were deemed dangerous, "this does not mean that they are ready to collapse, but that they have dangerous points". However, he emphasized, even a piece of plaster that falls from a height can cause the death of our fellow human beings.

In addition, he said that 15% of the owners respond immediately to repair the buildings, a 25% respond after procedures and reminders, while 60% do not respond to the calls of the Municipality, however some owners finally agree when they realize that the repair costs may be the same as a legal process against them.

Source: KYPE 

Source: www.sigmalive.com

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