<p>Prague 6 wants to negotiate about the Džbán swimming pool, which the landowner closed this year.</p>

Prague – The leadership of the Prague 6 district wants to discuss the future of the Džbán area. The priority of the city hall is that the area serves the public, spokesperson for the district Jiří Hannich informed ČTK. The fact that the area in Šárka is closed for this season was announced on the aquapark's website by Jiří Němec, managing director of Molepo, which owns the area. He cited the main reason for closing the aquapark as the emergency condition of the area. The company conditions the reconstruction on a change to the zoning plan in the location. Molepo wants to build residential buildings there.

"We care about the future of Džbán, so we, as Prague 6, have held several meetings with the parties involved on this matter. The elected bodies of the district have not expressed any position on the construction itself. But from a general perspective, it makes sense for us if we could receive the lands for management as part of an agreement, which we can utilize for the development of the area in the interest of the public," Hannich stated on behalf of the Prague 6 leadership.

The fact that Molepo conditions the opening of the area on a change to the zoning plan has been deemed surprising by representatives of Prague 6. The opposition Green Party expressed similar views. Their representative, Petr Palacký, stated that "the company's approach exhibits certain traits of blackmail." Some representatives of the Prague City Hall today also labeled the company's negotiations as extortion.

According to Němec, the aim of Molepo is to reconstruct the surroundings of the Džbán reservoir and to build housing on the plots on Evropská street. "Without the planned construction, we are unable to reconstruct the area of the natural swimming pool or its surroundings," Němec stated on the Džbán aquapark website. According to him, the area requires reconstruction and investment of about 100 million crowns.

The company wanted to build in the area earlier. However, the plan then encountered resistance from residents of Prague 6 and the city hall's leadership. The public has also voiced opposition to the construction now. About 5000 people have signed a petition against the construction of plots around the Džbán reservoir. They are asking, among other things, to preserve the character of the place as a recreational and simultaneously green area and for the repurchase of the Džbán aquapark and surrounding plots back into public ownership.

Molepo acquired the entire area in 2012 for about 53 million crowns and was the sole participant in the auction for the assets of the dissolved state enterprise Prague Sewage and Watercourses. The area around the reservoir is considered an entry gateway to the Šárecké Valley. According to the current form of the zoning plan, the location serves exclusively for relaxation and recreation.