Architect: There will be no restaurants and cafes in Sevastopol Park
In spite of the fact that Minsk city executive committee has approved the Detailed Plan of Sevastopol Park with restaurants, cafes and fitness centers, the chief architect of the reconstruction claims they are not going to build up the greenfield area. There are no grounds for people's worries for the destiny of Sevastopol Park in Minsk. This is how the chief architect of Sevastopol Park reconstruction project, the representative of Minsk city institute of landscaping and design Andrej Karavianski commented upon the Euroradio's material, dedicated to the plans of Minsk city executive committee on "impovement" of this park area in the center of the capital.
According to him, the Detailed Plan of the park's reconstruction, which rises so many protests of inhabitants of neighbouring houses, does not in fact prescribe building of restaurants, cafes and fitness centers. He says this plan should not be taken seriously, although it has been approved by Minsk city executive committee - it is just a concept of the region's development. All the objects indicated in this plan will not necessarily be built.
Andrej Karavianski: “Although the plan has been approved, we have the president's decree No. 568, which says only sports flat constructions and the objects of cult - this is about the church at Knorin street - can be located at the territory of Sevastopol Park. There can be nothing else there".
According to the architect, the specialists leaded by himself have just started elaboration of the project of the park's reconstruction. There will be no cafes, casinos or residential buildings, in the project.
Andrej Karavianski: “There will be no cafes, no casinos, and of course no residential buildings, which are indicated in the Detailed Plan, in our project”.
However, he admitted there would be one new construction in the park - a sports complex at the place of the current electrical substation.
Andrej Karavianski: “The Detailed Plan prescribes demolishing of the electrical substation. It is planned to build a sports complex at it's place, on the basement, on the previously disturbed ground”.
According to the architect, they have no right to build anything else here. He said he kept repeating this to the defenders of Sevastopol Park during the last several years.
However, the activist Valiantsina Shalejnikava distrusts the architect's words. She shows the letter signed by Mikalaj Ladutska, at that moment - acting Chairman of Minsk city executive committee, which says the city administration does not want to refrain from building restaurants in the park. Shalejnikava received this letter several months ago.
Valiantsina Shalejnikava: “This Detailed Plan has been approved, and Minsk city executive committee refuses to abolish it. We have Ladutska's response. Apart from saying this plan has been approved, they tell us there's nothing bad about building restaurants in the park”.
Andrej Karavianski stated while talking to Euroradio that no new residential buildings would be constructed in the park area, maybe just several children's playgrounds. However, a famous blogger and at the same time the park's defender Jauhen Lipkovich claims the architect has shown to him personally where the new building will be located. Moreover, Jauhen says there is no need for children's playgrounds here.
Jauhen Lipkovich: “I talked to him and he said a ten-storeyed residential building would be constructed right here, near the park. And here, he said, we needed children's playgrounds. What children's playgrounds?! We'll just have here people from the new house drinking alcohol. The people who live around the park do not want everything to be covered with asphalt here. Why they insist on children's playgrounds?!”
According to Karavianski, nothing bad is happening to the artesian wells located in the park... Apart from the fact they are plugged and the neighbouring houses do not receive water. As for the fact the Detailed Plan prescribes to transfer them out of the city, it shouldn't be taken into consideration.
Andrej Karavianski: “They are still there, no one ever touched them. We never, ever touched them in any way, we do not even approach them closer than the meters of the first protection belt. The wells will stay, we have always said that. Moreover, it's not the wells which are important, but the water layer”.
However, local inhabitants do not understand the logic of the officials, who closed the wells and deprived the people from artesian water. Now they drink the water from the Vilejka-Minsk open water system, like the majority of Minsk dwellers. In addition to that, Ladutska recently promised in his letter the wells would not be plugged even in perspective.
As for Karavianski, he doesn't understand the defenders of the park - why are they so against the new and the better? He is convinced that the defenders are adult and conservative people, who simply protest against any changes. He also does not exclude the possibility that pre-electoral interests of some activists are involved in all this mess around Sevastopol Park's situation. He probably forgot that local inhabitants had struggled for the park for more than 10 years by now.
Photo: Zmitser Lukashuk
According to him, the Detailed Plan of the park's reconstruction, which rises so many protests of inhabitants of neighbouring houses, does not in fact prescribe building of restaurants, cafes and fitness centers. He says this plan should not be taken seriously, although it has been approved by Minsk city executive committee - it is just a concept of the region's development. All the objects indicated in this plan will not necessarily be built.
Andrej Karavianski: “Although the plan has been approved, we have the president's decree No. 568, which says only sports flat constructions and the objects of cult - this is about the church at Knorin street - can be located at the territory of Sevastopol Park. There can be nothing else there".
According to the architect, the specialists leaded by himself have just started elaboration of the project of the park's reconstruction. There will be no cafes, casinos or residential buildings, in the project.
Andrej Karavianski: “There will be no cafes, no casinos, and of course no residential buildings, which are indicated in the Detailed Plan, in our project”.
However, he admitted there would be one new construction in the park - a sports complex at the place of the current electrical substation.
Andrej Karavianski: “The Detailed Plan prescribes demolishing of the electrical substation. It is planned to build a sports complex at it's place, on the basement, on the previously disturbed ground”.
According to the architect, they have no right to build anything else here. He said he kept repeating this to the defenders of Sevastopol Park during the last several years.
However, the activist Valiantsina Shalejnikava distrusts the architect's words. She shows the letter signed by Mikalaj Ladutska, at that moment - acting Chairman of Minsk city executive committee, which says the city administration does not want to refrain from building restaurants in the park. Shalejnikava received this letter several months ago.
Valiantsina Shalejnikava: “This Detailed Plan has been approved, and Minsk city executive committee refuses to abolish it. We have Ladutska's response. Apart from saying this plan has been approved, they tell us there's nothing bad about building restaurants in the park”.
Andrej Karavianski stated while talking to Euroradio that no new residential buildings would be constructed in the park area, maybe just several children's playgrounds. However, a famous blogger and at the same time the park's defender Jauhen Lipkovich claims the architect has shown to him personally where the new building will be located. Moreover, Jauhen says there is no need for children's playgrounds here.
Jauhen Lipkovich: “I talked to him and he said a ten-storeyed residential building would be constructed right here, near the park. And here, he said, we needed children's playgrounds. What children's playgrounds?! We'll just have here people from the new house drinking alcohol. The people who live around the park do not want everything to be covered with asphalt here. Why they insist on children's playgrounds?!”
According to Karavianski, nothing bad is happening to the artesian wells located in the park... Apart from the fact they are plugged and the neighbouring houses do not receive water. As for the fact the Detailed Plan prescribes to transfer them out of the city, it shouldn't be taken into consideration.
Andrej Karavianski: “They are still there, no one ever touched them. We never, ever touched them in any way, we do not even approach them closer than the meters of the first protection belt. The wells will stay, we have always said that. Moreover, it's not the wells which are important, but the water layer”.
However, local inhabitants do not understand the logic of the officials, who closed the wells and deprived the people from artesian water. Now they drink the water from the Vilejka-Minsk open water system, like the majority of Minsk dwellers. In addition to that, Ladutska recently promised in his letter the wells would not be plugged even in perspective.
As for Karavianski, he doesn't understand the defenders of the park - why are they so against the new and the better? He is convinced that the defenders are adult and conservative people, who simply protest against any changes. He also does not exclude the possibility that pre-electoral interests of some activists are involved in all this mess around Sevastopol Park's situation. He probably forgot that local inhabitants had struggled for the park for more than 10 years by now.
Photo: Zmitser Lukashuk
