“No” from the Stavroupolis Community to the grant of the Brigade building to the Diocese of Neapolis and Stavroupolis

Negatively gave an opinion the Local Council of Stavroupolis in concession of the Brigade building, located at Metropolitan Park of Pavlos Melas under constructionin Holy Metropolis of Neapolis and Stavroupolis.

The matter was discussed at today’s meeting of the Community, whose decision has an advisory nature. According to information, of the eleven members, ten voted against the concession, while one community member was absent. The meeting was also attended by residents and associations protesting the allocation of the historic building to the Metropolitan Park.

According to information, the residents who took the floor emphasized that it is not possible to grant one of the buildings of the former camp in the Metropolis to the green park under construction. As they mentioned, the space is designated for green and that one cannot appropriate public spaces to develop other activities.

As noted by the community councilor Giorgos Galetsas “the local council gave a negative opinion respecting the fact that it is a historical place”. He emphasized that it is the responsibility of the municipality to guard the unstructured space, but also to utilize the buildings for the benefit of the citizens”.

Now the issue of the concession of the Brigade, the half-demolished building, which in the past has been burned several times by strangers who took shelter, will be discussed at the meeting of the Municipal Council on Wednesday afternoon, where residents, agencies and associations will attend to express re their reaction.

The proposal for the concession of the Brigade building was submitted in 2023 by Metropolitan Varnavas in the presence of the Minister of Culture Linas Mendonis during her earlier visit to the Metropolitan Park. In fact, as the Metropolitan had mentioned, the goal was to operate the Brigade building as an “Ecclesiastical Cultural-Administrative Center”. It followed the request of the Diocese to TETHA and the municipality of Pavlos Melas under the mayorship of Dimitris Demourtzidis. In its letter to the municipality, the TETHA noted that “it agrees to the immediate satisfaction of the said request of the Holy Metropolis of Neapolis and Stavroupolis, as the creation of the Ecclesiastical Cultural-Administrative Center will additionally upgrade the cultural character of the Metropolitan Park”.

The Diocese returned with its request to the new administration of Dimitris Aslanidis. The issue was scheduled to be discussed in the Stavroupolis Community at the end of January, but after the reactions caused, with the intervention of the mayor Dimitris Aslanidis, it was withdrawn. Then the mayor made it clear in his statement that the issue of utilization of the building stock within the Metropolitan Park concerns the municipality, which will safeguard the public interest in its entirety.