Court U-turn on Mt Hymettus army homes
The country’s highest court yesterday performed a U-turn as regards the construction of 36 residential properties in a military camp on Mount Hymettus, ordering the suspension of the project less than a month after ruling that building could go ahead. Works under way to build a complex of maisonettes for army officers had been approved in a ruling at the end of last month when the Council of State had deemed that building activity could continue as it was taking place within a military zone and was therefore exempt from a ban on construction in the broader area. Yesterday’s ruling halts the work to allow an appeal against the project, lodged by local authorities and residents, to be heard. The mayor of Vyronas, Nikos Hardalias, who has lobbied hard for the protection of the mountain from arsonists and contractors, is leading the joint appeal.
