At the happening for Vidoula, people rejected residential development in the park

Prague - People who participated today in the happening Run for Vidoule want to preserve the current form of the Prague highland Vidoule. The undeveloped area between Košíře and Butovice, which is partly a protected nature park, could become a residential zone. The proposal to change the zoning plan has been on the city hall's desk for several months. Local residents are against the change, as they do not want to lose the natural character of the landscape.
    "We would prefer to keep the park for recreational use. Also because it is surrounded by development on all sides. Even if we were talking about very small or reasonable development, it would create a very dangerous precedent. Now we would take Košíře-Motol, then possibly Hostivař-Záběhlice or a piece of Prokop Valley. This would violate the rule that protects parks," said František Gemperle from the association For the Landscape Around Us to CTK today.
    The entire nature park Košíře-Motol, which includes the flat-topped mountain Vidoule, covers about 450 hectares. "Changes would concern about 16 percent of the area. Of that, Vidoule accounts for about 30 hectares," specified Gemperle. The land on Vidoule partly belongs to the development company Ekospol and partly to restitution claimants. According to Gemperle, they are cooperating with the developer.
    Ekospol's intention is to cultivate the currently uncared-for area on Vidoule, where there are fields and illegal dumps. "We would like to build parcels for villas and family houses with large gardens here. At the same time, we want to create a large publicly accessible park in the central part of the area with playgrounds, benches, and mature greenery," the company's spokesman Milan Jankovský told CTK. "Given that this is an end location with zero permeability for people, nobody really uses this area for recreation," he added.
    Today's event, which consisted of several running races for all age categories, was attended by about two hundred people. Actor Ivan Trojan, who lives in Košíře with his family, also participated in the five-kilometer race. The fight of civic associations for the preservation of the park was supported by actors Michal Dlouhý and Boris Hybner.
    The new leadership of Prague 5 is also against massive development on the hill. According to Mayor Miroslav Zelený (UNP), a more feasible plan than the developer's proposal is the plan from the restitution claimants, who propose less building density. "We gave our consent with the discussion that we request precise delineation of the areas. We can imagine that sports facilities and relaxation zones could grow there, like in the opposite Ladronka," Zelený told CTK.
    The first impulses for city-wide changes affecting Vidoule arose in 2011. At that time, the then leadership of Prague 5 agreed with them. Now it is already a matter of assigning zoning changes. On June 4, a zoning plan committee should discuss the assignment at the city hall. If the assignment also passes the urban development committee, it will be presented to the councilors. It will be up to them to decide whether the nature park will be changed.