Archbishop will restore demolished houses, DISY Councillor says

Attorney General Giorgos Savvides, weighed in on the commotion caused by the Archbishopric’s unlawful demolition on Monday of four listed houses adjacent of its under-construction Cathedral project in the old town of Nicosia.

Savvides on Tuesday sent out letters to the Interior Minister Nicos Nouris and the Nicosia Municipality Mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis, requesting to be fully informed on the incident which he referred to as serious, as well as the steps authorities are planning to take. Savvides will be examining whether his office will also be taking measures in response to the shocking incident.

The Interior Ministry and the Mayor have called the demolition of the listed buildings illegal and have called on the Archbishopric to restore the buildings, as required by the permits granted to the Archbishopric for the development of the Cathedral and the surrounding area.

The four torn down buildings on Isokratous Street are on land own Archbishopric, though legislation governing the some 7,000 listed buildings across the island prohibits their demolition in a bid to preserve cultural heritage, while financial and tax incentives are on offer for their restoration.

While the Archbishopric has so far refrained from publicly commenting on the case, DISY Municipal Councilor Chrysanthos Fakas said in a social media post that he was assured by the Archbishop during a meeting held on Tuesday that the restoration of the buildings will begin soon.

But in the meantime, political parties have drawn up announcements condemning the Archbishop’s actions. Citizens’ Alliance leader Giorgos Lillikas and DISY MP Nikos Tornaritis have sent letters to the head of the House Interior Committee Eleni Mavrou, requesting that the matter be placed on the Committee’s agenda.