The planned multifunctional hall in Pardubice aims to cover a strip of greenery

Pardubice – The proposal to change the zoning plan in Pardubice, which will allow the construction of a multifunctional hall in the Cihelna area, is expected to reduce the area designated for greenery. The change is being pursued by a company owned by entrepreneur Petr Dědek. The owner of HC Dynamo previously announced plans for an investment of five billion crowns, and in addition to the hall, there will be other buildings, a training hall, or a hotel. Today, a public hearing was held where many people came to hear what the entrepreneur intends to build and how it will affect them. People have one more week to submit written comments.

At the public hearing, people did not learn specific information and expressed disappointment. The representative of the investor, Jan Šíma from Studio MAP, referred them to the rules of spatial planning. He repeated that in the early phase, specific matters are not addressed, only the spatial arrangement of the development or greenery is considered. "The goal is for the area to serve not only for sports but also to provide civic amenities, so that the space has multifunctional use. From our perspective, civic amenities are lacking there,” said Šíma.

Entrepreneur Dědek has previously talked about an investment of five billion crowns. He wants to build a multifunctional hall for 13,000 to 15,000 people, a hotel for 400 people, or a training hall. Neither the old zoning plan nor the new one that the city is preparing allows him to make the investment on the planned scale.

People demanded more specific information about how large the hall would be, for how many people, where the parking spaces would be, whether there would be enough, and how it would affect traffic. They asked about the height limits of the buildings. "Mr. Dědek surely has a business plan for it to succeed. So, asking about civic amenities makes no sense,” said one attendee. People were afraid that the zoning plan change was so vague that the investor would have free rein. "You have given Mr. Dědek a blank check to build whatever he wants,” said a man who came to hear the public discussion today.

A lawyer representing the owners of neighboring plots also spoke at the meeting. Another residential development is to emerge there. "We would prefer discussions with all the owners in that area, where the communications will be, where the greenery will be. So that the New Cihelna area is discussed comprehensively. The owners of adjacent parcels are probably raising a legitimate objection that the green belt will be smaller, and they are concerned that potential construction will threaten them,” said the lawyer.

There was also a long discussion about greenery. The proposal includes a cut strip of greenery at the expense of construction. The greenery should continue around the hall and other buildings. The investor’s representative reiterated that more greenery will spread between the new buildings. Traffic was also a topic. "We are delineating a corridor of a broader area where future project designers will have more space to address traffic; the communications will connect to the northeastern bypass of the city. We do not want all the traffic to burden Pardubice, and we want it to be directed to the future bypass,” said Šíma.

Councilor Vojtěch Jirsa (Pirates) reminded that the request for a change in the zoning plan was only disclosed to the councilors shortly before the June meeting. He voted against it. "The ones to point fingers at are the city councilors, who allowed this to even be discussed,” said Jirsa.

The authorized councilor for the creation of the new zoning plan, František Brendl (Together for Pardubice), stated that the multifunctional hall and related investments have a transnational character. Entrepreneur Dědek brings a significant investment. "The process by which this is being approached is not ideal,” said Brendl. In the past, the city repeatedly told other landowners that they had to wait for the new zoning plan, and now suddenly another investor comes along and the councilors allow him to work on the change in the zoning plan. Brendl added that he did not belong to the majority that voted for Dědek's proposal.

People can submit written comments until Monday, October 9. After that, it is possible that there will be one more public hearing to address the comments, or the proposal will be presented to the councilors to be dealt with at their session, said David Schaffer from the planning department.