The ministry agrees that high buildings should be located at Pankrác

Prague - The Ministry of Culture has concluded the administrative proceedings regarding high-rise buildings in Prague's Pankrác and confirmed the city's decision that permits the construction. This was reported today by the Euro Online server, citing Kateřina Hainzová from the marketing department of the developer - company ECM. The decision has not yet taken legal effect; the ministry sent it to the participants of the proceedings at the end of last week, said the ministry's spokesperson Marcela Žižková to ČTK today.
    According to the ministry, the buildings will not disrupt the values of the Prague monument reserve, listed on the UNESCO list. However, UNESCO is currently discussing this aspect of the construction, and Prague must describe by February next year how it plans to proceed concerning the proposed high-rise buildings.
    According to heritage protectors, the intended constructions in Pankrác could set a precedent - whether they are permitted or not, in one form or another, the relevant authorities will follow this permission in the future.
    According to the developer, there is no longer an option to appeal against the ministry's decision. The company ECM, which plans the buildings in Pankrác, wants to present the project at a press conference on Thursday.
    The Pankrácká plain is within the protective zone of the Prague monument reserve. Based on the collected materials, Žižková stated that it could not be proven in the administrative proceedings that the intended buildings would disrupt the values of the reserve to the extent that it would be necessary or legally possible to consider the project as inadmissible.
    Therefore, the ministry had no other option but to confirm the aforementioned decisions of the city council, stating that the intended construction on the Pankrácká plain is permissible from the perspective of heritage protection, stated the spokesperson.
    The dispute over the high-rise buildings in Pankrác, which are supposed to complement several high-rise buildings already standing in the area, has been ongoing since 1999. Last year, the city’s heritage department approved their construction, but civic associations protested this decision to the Ministry of Culture and also contacted UNESCO.
    The ministry, as the appellate body, granted the objections, and the city council issued a new, again favorable opinion based on its remarks. The associations appealed again, and the matter ended up back at the Ministry of Culture. The minister submitted a complaint - again revoking the city's permit.
    In June this year, the ministry suspended the administrative proceedings, stating that a decision would be made once the UNESCO committee expressed its opinion on the project. The committee met at the end of June in New Zealand. Its participant, the chairman of the Czech National Committee of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), Josef Štulc, stated that the committee expressed serious concern about the proposed form of the buildings, which is the first step that could be followed by a listing on the list of world heritage sites in danger.
    The ministry states that the committee indeed expressed concern about the potential threat to the values of the Prague monument reserve, but unlike other cases being discussed - such as Dresden, Riga, or St. Petersburg - it did not express a negative opinion on the proposed buildings.