Tala Square demolition plans.

[Howden Tiger]

Taken from Tala Community Newsletter. Truly terrible news. There is also an online petition been started on change.org

TALA SQUARE PETITION

It appears there is a paper petition at the hairdressers next to Voukani in the square if you wish to sign.

The Council intend to remove the flower beds, fountain and steps in the square, and create a road across - with works scheduled to start in November. Voukani closed their doors last night permanently as a result.

For information, there was never any permit for any road across the square. The only road was the one that ran in front of Thimoullas down to where Talalaland was [and this 'road' is still in place]. Access to properties on the square was taken into account and discussed with all those affected when the original plans to pedestrianise the square were drawn up.

In addition, the square is the property of the Church [gifted to the village, but the Church still holds the title deed] and the late Archbishop permitted creation of the pedestrianised square to 'provide a courtyard' between the old and the new church. The late Archbishop said at the time 'with the arrangements that have been put forward, everyone will learn to park vehicles in parking lots to walk and enjoy the scenery and not to park exactly outside the premises which they want to visit’ [Philenews 12 October 2020].

Before the square was pedestrianised, there was ample opportunity for public discussion and objections. The few objections there were only started once the square had been completed. You may recall from the press at the time that some members of the council, refused to vote for Stage 2 to progress unless a road was reinstated, then backed down eventually, and voted unanimously to proceed.

Those objections were from residents who lived at the other side of the square, who were unhappy at having a longer journey to access their property. An extra journey time of a couple of minutes!

The aim of the square was to provide a safe and secure area for people to sit, relax, enjoy a meal and/or drink, and for children to play safely in, away from cars.

The pedestrianisation of the square was carried out with part Government funding [not European funds] and the total cost at the time was around €620,000, of which the Government grant was €404,000. The total cost of both phases of the project was €1.3million, of which Tala paid 30%.

The construction was for a pedestrianised square. Services are buried under the surface and there was no provision for traffic or parking on the square.

Part 2 of the project, which was the reinstatement of the stone cladding for the village houses leading out of the square, and cobbling of the street, did have some European funding.

When the original objections were raised, the District Office made clear that any Government funding would have to be repaid.

There has been no public discussion or release of any plans, nor estimate of costs. If the job was to be done properly with deeper burial of services and a road with proper foundations, as a guesstimate the cost would be in the region of €1m as the whole square would be rebuilt from scratch. If the intention is simply to do a demolition job, tile over where the flower beds and fountain are, and lay a layer of tarmac across the square, then the cost will obviously be less.

However, whatever the cost, in the interest of transparency, residents and ratepayers of Tala should be informed as they are the ones who will be paying the bill.

[Howden Tiger]

Please sign this to try and stop the ruining of our beautiful Tala Square!!!!

Link to online version

https://chng.it/phZKfKqyLc

[Tremigirl]

This is so sad. Voukani is one of our favourite places we and I am sure many other people are going to miss going there.
Nice place right in the square, wonderful staff and excellent food.
Hope everyone signed the petition

[josef k]

It is indeed a shame, as it will spoil the square. However, I looked at the list of people who signed the petition so far and noticed an absence of Cypriot names. Whilst not a scientific analysis, it suggests the majority of people objecting are not Cypriots and therefore don't have votes in the next community elections. Without voters objecting, the petition is unlikely to produce a result.

[Uncle D]

Its a shame, but the square has only really benefited tourists and local foreigners who live and use that area for recreation, and not, I think local Cypriot villagers.

[Dominic]

Those objections were from residents who lived at the other side of the square, who were unhappy at having a longer journey to access their property. An extra journey time of a couple of minutes!

A couple of minutes each time you wanted to get to your property would be quite annoying after a while I imagine. Especially when it came to deliveries etc.

[mikos939]

The square is one of the nicest parts of the village and makes the whole area feel alive. Can’t understand why they’d want to turn it into a road after all that money and effort went into making it a safe place for people

[galexinda]

It is indeed a shame, as it will spoil the square. However, I looked at the list of people who signed the petition so far and noticed an absence of Cypriot names. Whilst not a scientific analysis, it suggests the majority of people objecting are not Cypriots and therefore don't have votes in the next community elections. Without voters objecting, the petition is unlikely to produce a result.

I have yet to find any information about the proposed changes to Tala square on any of the Cypriot social platforms and Cypriot media so am not surprised at the lack of Cypriot support for the paper petition or the online petition.

Tala Square used to have plenty of activity and a vibrant feeling day and night, but that was many years ago!