Ministerstvo kultury will again address the construction at the Žižkov railway station

Prague - The Ministry of Culture will again consider whether the design of the planned administrative and shopping center in the area of the Žižkov Freight Station is in conflict with the interests of heritage conservation. This was decided by Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) in a review procedure. He returned the matter to the heritage department of the ministry for new discussion, and the National Heritage Institute should prepare a more detailed analysis of how the project would impact the skyline of the Prague Heritage Reserve.
This was stated by the ministry spokesperson Simona Cigánková. The Discovery Group obtained permission from the city’s heritage officials in 2013 and also has zoning approval. The building is to be constructed near the freight station, which is a cultural monument, especially due to civic activities.
Representatives of the owner, the developer, and the local council signed a memorandum over a year ago, agreeing on the future cultural use of this facility. The reconstruction of the vast building into a cultural center would reportedly cost around two billion crowns. There are plans for substantial construction around it. The opposition Green Party has long protested against the project of the administrative building at Prague 3 City Hall.
An appeal was filed against the position of the Prague heritage officials, who permitted the building, to the ministry’s heritage officials. They confirmed the city’s position. After the appeal process, a review procedure may follow, in which the minister decides. Herman canceled the binding opinion of the ministry and returned the case to himself. He demands a new analysis from the NPÚ, so that "he obtains relevant data that will enable the ministry to make a qualified conclusion as to whether the project is or is not in accordance with the interests of heritage conservation," says the spokesperson. The ministry will then issue a new binding opinion, which the minister may or may not review again.
According to the city council and other opponents from civic associations, the project is overdimensioned and its location next to the protected station is inappropriate. Deputy Mayor of Prague 3 Matěj Stropnický (the Žižkov Coalition) claims that the enormous construction will further burden the already overloaded area with more traffic. The city hall of Prague 3 had previously filed a lawsuit against the issued zoning decision to the city council.
Stropnický finds it unacceptable for Mayor Vladislava Hujová (TOP 09) to withdraw the lawsuit, as she herself has mentioned. According to him, the minister's decision opens the way to revoke the consent of the Prague heritage officials to the construction and to revoke the zoning decision from the investor. If the ministry cancels the binding opinion of the Prague heritage officials, the building authority of the capital city of Prague will resume the zoning procedure for the entire building.