Havířov fears that it will lose EU subsidies due to the preservation of the train station

Havířov (Karviná) - The leadership of Havířov in Karviná is concerned that due to the plans of the resigned Minister of Transport Zdeněk Žák to preserve the original station hall, it will lose the European subsidy of 85 million crowns approved for the construction of a transport terminal. Mayor Zdeněk Osmanczyk (ČSSD) therefore wants to formally request the minister to reconsider his stance, spokeswoman for the municipality Eva Wojnarová said today to ČTK. The Ministry of Transport spokesman Tomáš Neřold told ČTK today that the minister maintains his position.
    The construction of the new transport terminal is a joint project of the city and the Czech Railways. According to Wojnarová, the railways were supposed to take care of the reconstruction of the station building, while the city was to address the layout of the spaces in front of the station. However, a group of architects opposed the demolition of the existing station building built in the Brussels style. Their proposal for the Havířov station to become a cultural monument was rejected by the Ministry of Culture in June. A new hope for them became Minister of Transport Žák, who initiated the creation of a crisis staff to address the situation. "The commission will deal with project modifications so that the requirement to preserve the existing station building is maintained while allowing the construction of the transport terminal to begin," said Žák in September.
    According to the ministry spokesman, Žák has maintained from the beginning that the creation of a new transport terminal does not have to mean that the architecturally valuable building of the Havířov station will be demolished. "He continues to adhere to this position. It should be noted that for about two years, leading Czech architects and urban planners have been contacting the city and warning that the existing project is very problematic. If the city did not respond to these voices, it has limited its maneuvering space," Neřold told ČTK.
    According to the mayor's deputy Petr Smrček (ČSSD), the crisis staff has not yet found a way to preserve the station building while also drawing the promised European subsidies within this planning period.
    Smrček stated that Žák's approach also leads to the waste of approximately three million crowns from the city of Havířov that have been spent on the project so far. "The city leadership will consult with lawyers to find a way to recover the funds spent in case the transport terminal project is thwarted," Wojnarová said.
    According to her, the outcome of the October meeting of the crisis staff indicated that representatives from the Ministry of Transport and ČD would have a proposal for a solution prepared in the form of an ideological design that preserves the hall of the Havířov station. "The result should be an assessment of the costs of a potential reconstruction and further operation of the existing station hall. The deadline for preparing the proposal has not been set," Wojnarová said. However, the city disagrees with such an approach and is concerned that the station will remain unrepaired for years to come.
    According to plans approved by city councilors in June two years ago, the construction of the new terminal was supposed to start this year and be completed next year. The terminal was to connect rail, bus, and personal transport. The total costs for its construction were to be around 200 million crowns.