500 Attic hectares
The first owners to acquire legal status for their illegally built houses will be those whose property is on some 500 hectares in 10 settlements in Athens and another seven municipalities throughout Greece. Regional town plans are in the pipeline for the provinces and the islands. YPEHODE officials, headed by Rodoula Zisi, are trying to extricate various town plans from accumulated problems and implement the new plans as quickly as possible. The areas in the administrative region of Attica are: Kamatero, Vari, Maroussi, Aspropyrgos, Methana, Kalyvia, Villia, Porto Germeno and Prosili. The areas concerned in other parts of Greece are: Polichni in Thessaloniki, Argos, Aigion, Karpenisi, Xanthi, Pythagoreio on Samos, and Mytilene. Holiday homes Sources say that another 700 hectares will soon be included in town plans (590 of which are areas where people have holiday homes). The areas where the process of including second homes is complete are Limnia (Chios), Kavros (Hania) and Kallikrateia (Halkidiki). Town plans are under consideration for several other areas, many of them already densely populated with dozens of illegal buildings but also of great interest for tourism and the economy. Among them are Cassandra in Halkidiki, Litohori in Pieria, Nea Anchialos in Magnesia, Preveza and Igoumenitsa. As for the rest of town-planning map: – Changes to town plans are in the pipeline for the municipalities of Athens, Kifissia, Aghia Paraskevi, Glyfada, Moschato, Kallithea, Haidari, Aspropyrgos, Korydallos, Pallini, Nea Ionia, Ano Liosia, Maroussi, Vari, Ilion, Nikaia, Voula, Salamina and Aghioi Anargyroi. – Regional town plans are being completed for Thessaly, Epirus, the Peloponnese, Western Greece and Crete, and YPEHODE sources say that by the end of the month, the minister, Vassa Papandreou, will have signed regional plans for central Greece, the Northern Aegean and Western Macedonia. – Town-planning studies are ready for Mount Athos, Chios, Tinos, Kallidromo and the coastal zone of Evros. – Awaiting signatures are studies for Paros, Antiparos, Cephalonia, Ithaca, the Halkidiki coast and the southern coast of Rethymnon, while studies for Oinofyta and the Corinthian coast are under review.
