People created a human chain in the Zlin park against tree felling

Zlín - Several dozen people today formed a human chain around the trees in the park behind the city theater in the center of Zlín. They protested against the possible felling of trees and the construction of a multifunctional building with apartments and commercial spaces in this location. Approximately 1,400 people signed a petition against the tree felling, Martin Davidov, chairman of the Zlín association Ekoncentrum Čtyřlístek, which organized the event symbolically on Earth Day, told ČTK today.
    The building is to be erected by a private investor, but no statement from them could be obtained. According to the spokesman for the Zlín city hall, Zdeněk Dvořák, this is a long-term project that began back in 2006. "At that time, the prevailing opinion was to support this investment on the grounds that the city center should have apartments and people should live there," the spokesman stated. The building should be completed this year; if it is not finished, according to the spokesman, it can be expected that the investor will apply for an extension of the loan. "In that case, the city council would again make the decision, and it is hard to predict whether they would extend this loan or not," the spokesman added.
    Although the building should be completed by the end of the year, the investor, according to Dvořák, failed to apply for any potential tree felling during the vegetation period. "It is quite certain that outside of this time, they will not receive an exception for tree felling," he said.
    According to the opponents of the construction, additional residential and commercial spaces in the city center are excessive. They demand that the city hall reassess the situation and prevent tree felling. More than 900 people have signed a paper petition against the tree felling, and nearly 500 people signed the electronic version.
    "So far, we have not officially submitted anything to the city hall; we have not received any response yet," Davidov stated.
    The park features mature trees, one of which is a larch that received the most votes from Zlín residents in the Tree of the Year 2014 poll. The area in the very center of the regional city is also used by people for walking dogs, and various productions are held here as part of the theater festival Setkání-Stretnutie.