Judicial block on opening area the size of 26 football fields to development

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Deputy Secretary General Buğra Gökce announced that the project concerning the area, which was transferred to Ziraat Bank due to Demirören Holding's loan debt and was intended to be declared a reserve building area, has been cancelled.

Regarding the decision, Gökce stated, "With this precedent-setting decision, we have achieved an important victory both in protecting the ecological assets of the region and in preventing the implementation of a regulation that would have left our citizens facing disaster risks. I congratulate all our colleagues and legal experts who worked to protect the beauties of our Istanbul; I wish the people of Istanbul beautiful days where our natural assets are not destroyed by the appetite for profit, where our natural and ecological wealth is protected, and where everyone can breathe clean air."

IMM Deputy Secretary General Buğra Gökce announced today via his social media account that the project concerning the area in Eyüpsultan, which is the size of 26 football fields and was transferred to Ziraat Bank due to Demirören Holding's loan debt and was intended to be declared a reserve building area by Emlak GYO, has been cancelled. Gökce's post is as follows:

"Dear Istanbulites, I have good news for you. The land below was transferred to Ziraat Bank in exchange for Demirören Holding's loan debt. As is known, the land, where a luxury housing project was initiated by Emlak Konut Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. after the transfer, is the most important green space in the region. A small piece of information before the good news:

This area was declared a 'reserve building area' by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change on March 29, 2022, and the area, the size of 26 football fields, was opened to construction. This plan was cancelled following lawsuits filed by our citizens.

With the plan amendment made by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change on May 29, 2023, the area was again defined as a reserve building area. Thus, the authority to make plans in the region was intended to be transferred from our Metropolitan Municipality to the Ministry. As the IMM, we filed a lawsuit for the cancellation of the 1/5000 scale master zoning plan and the 1/1000 scale implementation plan approved on May 29, 2023.

"DECLARING IT A RESERVE BUILDING AREA WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO FLOODS AND SIMILAR DISASTERS"

Now for the good news: as a result of the examination conducted by the authorized court hearing the lawsuit we filed, it was determined that for an area to be declared a reserve building area, it must possess the qualifications specified in Law No. 6306 regarding urban transformation; that it is scientifically impossible to designate the area as a reserve area; that construction in the area in question could lead to a decrease in the amount of water seeping underground and in the groundwater level; that the failure of water to seep underground would negatively affect the hydrological balance; that a portion of the area remains within a flood risk zone; and that declaring it a reserve building area would contribute to floods and similar disasters. Consequently, the court cancelled the relevant plan amendment (i.e., the designation of the land as a reserve building area).

"WITH THIS PRECEDENT-SETTING DECISION, WE PREVENTED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A REGULATION THAT WOULD HAVE LEFT OUR CITIZENS FACING DISASTER RISKS"

With this precedent-setting decision, we have achieved an important victory both in protecting the ecological assets of the region and in preventing the implementation of a regulation that would have left our citizens facing disaster risks. I congratulate all our colleagues and legal experts who worked to protect the beauties of our Istanbul; I wish the people of Istanbul beautiful days where our natural assets are not destroyed by the appetite for profit, where our natural and ecological wealth is protected, and where everyone can breathe clean air."

News Source: 12punto