(source: TV Noviny/Sme Index)
Back in the summer of 2020, the controversial project of building a sightseeing tower went into motion. The project was put forward by a company known as High Tatras Tower, the Korzár regional daily reported.
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The tourist attraction reaches more than 50 meters in height and the people of the Tatras are not happy about it. At the beginning, as many as 6,000 activists signed a petition in protest. The original plans were to build a hotel in the spot in which the tower currently stands.
According to Pavol Majko, director of the Tatra National Park (TANAP), the building is not a problem and did not call for the removal of any trees, Korzár reported.According to Pavol Majko, director of the Tatra National Park (TANAP), the building is not a problem and did not call for the removal of any trees, Korzár reported.
Building the tower (source: TASR)
Now that the tower is finished and has passed the initial assessment, the builders have the permission to make changes. The tower was originally supposed to be home to the TANAP museum. Instead, the restaurant spaces are being expanded.
Mayor of Štrba, Michal Sýkora, said the local construction office could not refuse the changes to further construction approvals. This decision was made by the office on January 19 but is not effective yet. The developer put forward a motion for a building evaluation at the end of October 2020.
A further assessment needed to be done since the tower was undergoing some changes. The construction office mentioned that the area of the museum was combined with the area of the restaurant. Changes were made to the entrance on the ground floor and the outside bases.
(source: TASR / Milan Kapusta)
According to the construction office, the measurements or the overall look of the tower remained unchanged. The office further mentions that the building was not in violation of any objections made by the state council, organizations, or even the regional office of Poprad for environmental protection, as stated in the Korzár Spiš.
Criticism of the changes
The We Like the Tatras civic association is requesting all interest groups to prevent the finalisation of the tower evaluation. According to the association, the region of Štrba did not take into consideration the key position of the Poprad local office, which states that the tower is not in line with the original plan of the building approval.
The time limit for objecting to the evaluation is running out. The association appreciated that the Poprad local office disagrees on the evaluation as well.
The mayor mentioned that the construction office must abide by construction laws. If the tower is in no way violating the codes and laws of construction, the construction workers will have the approval to proceed with the changes they are planning on making.
Meanwhile, the regional prosecutor's office in Prešov said it will look into the legitimacy of the final approval, following a motion submitting by General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka, the TASR newswire reported.
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Štrbské pleso Lake in the High Tatras (source: Peter Dolinský)
