Parliament Bans Construction On Green Areas

On July 31, Parliament decided to impose a memorandum on construction on existing green areas, parks, playgrounds, sporting fields and areas between residential buildings in regional centres and in towns with populations of more than 50 000.In the zones allotted for multi-functional facilities, construction without abiding by the development plans that went into effect before the publication of this resolution would not be permitted, Parliament decided.National Movement for Stability and Progress promised to see to the formation of a working group to go through the law for zoning of territories and to suggest amendments that would resolve the problem with construction on green areas.The memorandum would be applicable until Parliament voted on the amendments suggested, Dnenvik wrote on its daily news website.Construction in green areas has increase in the past years, with an increasing number of small parks in the residential complexes disappearing due to the building of business centres or other buildings. In end-June 2008, some 200 people gathered to protest in front of the Mladost neighbourhood municipal hall against the newly detailed master plan for the borough, which envisioned the construction about 150 new apartment and office buildings.In mid-July, another protest took place, this time in the Krasno Selo neighbourhood, against the construction of a kindergarten in the place of a small park, as The Sofia Echo had previously reported. There were enough kindergartens in Krasno Selo and the new one would destroy one of the few parks in the neighbourhood, protesters said. They feared that the project would be launched as a kindergarten, but would finish up as something else. Protesters even hissed and threw an egg at Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov, who had arrived to turn the first sod of the construction site.