Balancing Tradition and Mass Tourism on Astypalea

One after one other, islands that till immediately have been thought-about different or typically far off the crushed monitor are altering in look. Astypalea is now heading on this route, with plans to construct a brand new village of vacationer residences the dimensions of the island’s capital, Hora. On the similar time, the variety of functions for constructing permits has doubled up to now yr and a half, nearly all of them for vacationer lodging and residences, and the island’s ring street is already witnessing a surge in development exercise.

In keeping with the mayor of Astypalea, Nikos Komineas, a serious resort group started exploratory contacts on the island a few yr in the past, with the intention of constructing a serious tourism funding. In keeping with Kathimerini, this proposal has now been submitted to the authorities for approval. It was submitted by an Athens-based actual property growth firm and covers an space of about 2,000 hectares at Agrilidi, an space comparable in measurement to that of the island’s capital. The proposal is for the event of a vacationer complicated with villas on the market or lease, with a constructing space of 25,000-30,000 sq. meters. The car for zoning and concrete planning shall be one more particular city plan (that’s, an city plan unique to the realm of the funding), which is able to modify the land use and permit for the development of a settlement within the off-plan space.

“I believe there’s appreciable curiosity in investing on the island,” Komineas says. “It’s actually one thing to observe due to the strain that appears to be coming. Once I was approached by the resort group, I instructed them that we don’t need to create models indiscriminately in off-plan areas, pointing to settlements that also have numerous room for growth, akin to Hora, Livadi, Analipsi (Maltezana), Exo Vathi and Mesa Vathi. As well as, there needs to be a dispersion of buildings and the [style of the] native structure needs to be adopted to match the character of the island. If in some unspecified time in the future the settlements change into saturated, it’s preferable to create a brand new settlement relatively than scattering buildings within the countryside.”

On the similar time, development on the island has elevated dramatically within the final two years. The place constructing permits didn’t exceed 15 per yr (for instance, 13 permits in 2020, together with additions and renovations), they exceeded 30 in 2023: nearly all of them concern complexes of 2-3 buildings for lease (rooms, residences or homes). Because the starting of 2023, seven permits, 9 pre-approvals of constructing permits and one other 25 land use or constructing situation certificates have been issued.

Want for cover

In what setting is all this going down? Astypalea doesn’t have an city plan; the preparation for that’s anticipated to start out now. Nonetheless, it belongs to the group of 25 small islands that have been declared “areas in want of particular safety” by a presidential decree of the then Ministry of the Aegean in 2002. On these islands, the development of tourism amenities is just not allowed to exceed 1,500 sq. meters per plot, or 200 sq. meters per plot for “self-catering residences” and furnished rooms. Because of this laws, there aren’t any massive resort models on these islands. As well as, Astypalaia is an island with vital forest areas. In keeping with the Hellenic Land Registry, of the 110,422 hectares coated by the forest map of the island, 49.54% is forestland, 38.84% is grassland and solely 11.62% includes different sorts of land.

Not too long ago, information of the tourism funding has began to flow into on the island, and opinions on the matter are divided. “The figures I hear are troublesome to work with,” says Komineas, himself an engineer. “There’s not a lot agricultural land or grassland in Agrilidi – most of it’s forested. As well as, numerous land belongs to the Ecclesiastical Charity Fund of Astypalea, a authorized entity whose administration is made up of 5 residents of the island, in addition to the present metropolitan and mayor. In the intervening time we would not have any curiosity within the acquisition of land.”

Maria Lekakou, professor of maritime economics on the College of the Aegean, has been engaged on Astypalaia for a very long time, as a part of the intensive session with the local people on the implementation of the “Good and Sustainable Island” venture (based mostly on the introduction of e-mobility, in collaboration with a serious automobile producer). “I’ve been a lover of Astypalea since my pupil days, since… earlier than Christ, as I inform my college students, due to my friendship with the daughter of the proprietor of the primary campsite on the island. Many individuals got here to the island as college students within the Nineteen Eighties, and have returned, purchased a home or come again frequently. Since then, Astypalea has modified, however luckily it has not change into a caricature like different islands. However there’s a clear divide in the local people, between the residents of Kastro, who need the island to stay as it’s, and the typical resident, who desires tourism to be boosted and the land to change into extra priceless. Tourism on the island continues to be managed, with small models, with few rooms and a human scale.”

When requested concerning the deliberate funding, Lekakou is just not unfavorable. “I’m not an knowledgeable on tourism, nevertheless it feels like a brand new neighborhood is being created in part of the island, which isn’t essentially unfavorable whether it is carried out carefully and respects the house.”

Change for the more severe?

“All the things is altering in a short time for the more severe,” says Maria Mavroudi, a businesswoman on the island. “I really like my island. I acquired into tourism as an economist, and I believe one of the best factor to do is to remain on the normal course and promote the normal Greek expertise at a better worth. At a time when others have gotten a man-made, touristic backdrop, we must always keep a pristine place with out vacationer alienation, which mixes components of custom with the current. We’re at a turning level. Now we have had a growth with the e-mobility program, which immediately is way from sustainable. Now we have purchased electrical autos and we cost them with the diesel engines of the [Public Power Corporation], as a result of there aren’t any renewable vitality sources. So, on the one hand now we have a pleasant narrative – which, if it have been utterly legitimate, I might agree with – and, on the opposite, now we have the locals, who used to have a excessive season of 30 days in the summertime and have doubled it, sweetened by cash, and would not have the maturity to grasp that that is all opportunistic. The primary debate on the island immediately is whether or not to permit eating places and bars in Hora – if it too is alienated, we’re misplaced. There are no less than 15 developments underneath method alongside the ring street. I’m involved as a result of Astypalea has all the time attracted high quality folks and in the intervening time there’s a tendency to simply enhance the variety of in a single day stays.”

“I believe the island is altering for the higher. After all our primary drawback stays transportation,” says Froso Charalampi, a businesswoman. “It’s true that there’s a lot of development happening, most of it by locals who need to construct vacationer lodging. They imagine that the island is on the up and that there’s potential. The entire mountain as much as Hora is now bought. As for the rumored funding, it doesn’t sound good to me personally. Such a sudden growth is just not good for anywhere. The benefit of Astypalea is that on the one hand the island stays picturesque and, on the opposite, we aren’t going to ‘devour’ the customer. On this sense, our first concern needs to be to guard our panorama. If this crippled state desires to assist us, it ought to enhance transportation.”

This text was beforehand revealed in Greek at kathimerini.gr.