A request to the Council of State (CoS), Greece’s highest administrative court, by residents in the Athens district of Exarchia to “freeze” the metro station construction project currently underway in the area’s central square was on Monday rejected by CoS.
The residents’ representatives argued that the metro station will cause irreparable damage to the area’s flora and also to the socio-economic life around the square.
Furthermore, the residents claim that the contested decisions for the station’s construction were issued without prior consultation with the residents of the area; they also claim that construction works began before the project’s approval by the relevant engineering and licensing authority.
Construction works started under heavy police presence as residents launched protests.
To make the decision clear, the Attica Metro company will continue the construction works, while the CoS will take the ultimate decision in the next month.
