The golf course in Prague's Klánovický Forest will not be built

Prague - A golf course in the Klánovice Forest in Prague will not be built. City councilors today definitively confirmed the issuance of a change to the zoning plan that prevents the construction of the course. Long-standing disputes have surrounded the construction of the golf course. The local municipality and part of the local residents opposed the golf course. The change to the zoning plan was supported by all present councilors across political parties. Golfers called the decision a politically motivated step.
     "This is the final phase of the change. If we approve it, it will be incorporated into the zoning plan. I believe this is the right decision," said Deputy Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09), who presented the change, to the councilors.
     The leadership of the Klánovice municipality welcomed the decision. The legal representative of Klánovice, Petr Svoboda, thanked the councilors. "I would like to thank you for getting the proposal to this stage after eight years," said Svoboda.
     "I would like to invite all residents of Prague to visit this beautiful forest. It is very important that the forest remains a forest. We never wanted to hinder business activities; we have been fighting for the forest since 2005," said Klánovice councilor Giuseppe Maiello (SZ) to ČTK.
     The private investor Forest Golf Club Klánovice (FGCK), which sought to build the course, disagrees with the decision. According to them, the council's decision ends the hopes of the public for improving the conditions for sports and recreational use of the area. "This is a precedent-setting political intervention in ongoing administrative proceedings, the legally anticipated proper completion of which is thwarted by this step," stated in a declaration sent to ČTK by FGCK Vice-Chairwoman Monika Bažantová. The Czech Golf Federation also sided with the investor.
     The approved change will convert most of the land currently designated for recreation in the Klánovice Forest area, which allows for a golf course, to forest.
     A private investor, Forest Golf Club Klánovice, sought to build the golf course. The project envisioned the construction of a nine-hole course, which along with adjacent buildings would cover an area of approximately 12.87 hectares. However, residents objected to the planned tree felling that would precede the construction. In the past, they held a referendum in which the majority rejected the course.
     Golfers had already obtained permission for an eighteen-hole course in Klánovice in the 1990s, but it was never built due to a lack of funds.