The petition criticizes the community house project in Lanškroun

Lanškroun (Orlickoústecko) - A petition in Lanškroun in the Orlickoústecko region criticizes the town hall for the vague specifications of the community center project. According to Jan Střecha from the petition committee, it has hundreds of signatories. Mayor Radim Vetchý, on the other hand, claims that the architect received sufficient materials, he told ČTK.

Last year, the town hall closed the Langer villa from the second half of the 19th century and a former production hall that served as a hall due to its hazardous condition. Based on studies, the town decided to renovate the villa for 120 million crowns, demolish the hall along with the adjacent hotel, and build a new structure on the site.

"Based on the proposed volumes of the structures, we estimate the cost to be over 200 million crowns," Střecha told ČTK. The tender documentation consists of only a few pages, which is not typical for such large projects. They are usually significantly more detailed, Střecha noted.

According to him, the petition demands that the design process be halted. The town hall announced an architectural competition and selected the most suitable proposal from it. In the past, the town only contacted Atelier 90, which prepared the architectural design. The studio was also the only one to enter the competition for the project, which it is now working on.

"We provided the architect with all the processed outputs, detailing how the house should look and what it should include. We rely on the expertise of professionals. When we presented the project to the public in November, it received a positive response," the mayor said.

The project was supposed to be completed in June, which, considering the civic activity, is unlikely to happen. The town hall plans to hold another public meeting on Wednesday, April 20, where the architect will present the project again.

According to Vetchý, it certainly takes into account the needs of the town and the surrounding areas with more than 20,000 residents. Relevant comments from the petition authors and other individuals will be incorporated into the project by the architect. "We are not just making the community center for Lanškroun, but for the residents of surrounding municipalities," the mayor said.

The petition committee will decide after the April meeting whether to submit the petition to the town hall. The mayor pointed out that the costs will be gradually clarified, admitting that they may be higher than 120 million crowns. He also expects that through the tender process, the project cost will usually decrease.