Greece’s Environment Ministry suspends building licenses in the wider zone of the caldera on the islands of Santorini and Therasia to protect them from landslides. The Ministry included a relevant clause in draft legislation published for public consultation on Thursday.
Reason for this initiative is the dramatic burden on the Caldera through the – legal or arbitrary – construction and especially by the swimming pools, media reported citing the Environment Ministry decision.
Map of caldera zone on Santorini by the Greek Environment Ministry.
The suspension covers swimming pools, building extensions as well as brand-new construction.
The suspension does not only concern new buildings but also the extension of existing buildings as well as swimming pools. At the same time, a two-year deadline is given to all tourist businesses operating in the Caldera (from hotels to restaurants) to prepare a static adequacy study, while the local urban planning department is instructed until the end of 2024 to check all building permits in this zone by the end of 2024,
At the same time, a two-year deadline is given to all tourism businesses operating in the caldera to carry out a structural adequacy study, while the local planning authority is mandated to check all building permits in the zone by the end of 2024.
“This year, after the landslide in April, meetings of the intergovernmental committee were held specifically for Santorini and, next, the issue of the stability of the slopes of the caldera was examined,” said the president of the Anti-Seismic Planning and Protection Organization (OASP), Efthymis Lekkas, daily kathimerini reported.
The landslide in April had authorities to impose measures for local and tourists on certain parts of the Santorini and Therasia.
