Prague will have the first version of the Ďáblice housing estate study revised

Prague - Prague will have the first version of the study on the development of the Ďáblice housing estate in Prague 8 redone. People will be able to submit comments on the material until May 31. After about a two-hour discussion, Prague city councilors decided this today. The study is being prepared by the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR). The Prague 8 municipality and local residents opposed the study. Its preparation was commissioned in the past due to the construction of four to sixteen-story buildings planned by the CPI company owned by entrepreneur Radovan Vítek.

"We hoped that this (study) would solve our problem, and that constructions would not appear that no one wants. When it was presented, we were shocked. It further densifies the housing estate and proposes new constructions. This is contrary to what Prague 8 and the people wanted," said Prague opposition councilor and Prague 8 councilor Radomír Nepil (ANO), who proposed discussing the housing estate issue.

The initial outcomes of the spatial study indicate that architects divided the housing estate into an inner part, where construction should not take place, and an outer part. Specifically, at its edge, the study proposes the construction of about twenty houses with a maximum height of six stories. The Deputy Mayor of Prague 8, Jiří Vítek (Patrioti pro Prahu 8), stated that the creators of the study did not communicate sufficiently with the municipality.

At the meeting of the councilors, residents of the housing estate also spoke. According to them, the study sprawled four tower blocks into twenty horizontal houses. It also does not address the transportation of people who would commute to the housing estate for work, and part of the greenery would disappear. Resident Viktor Johánek said that it would be good to repair the dilapidated houses that served as civic amenities.

The councilors of Prague 8 have rejected new construction twice already. Most recently at their meeting last week, when they also rejected the aforementioned study. The Ďáblice housing estate is not protected as a cultural monument, but experts appreciate its design and method of development.

The buildings belonging to entrepreneur Vítek were planned to rise on the site of existing structures on several plots, specifically on Šimůnková and Čumpelík streets, between Tanvaldská and Střelničná streets, and on Frýdlantská street. The high-rise buildings were planned to offer several hundred apartments.

Local residents are concerned about the deterioration of their quality of life. They believe that the infrastructure is not suited for construction, including parking capacity, transport routes, schools and kindergartens, as well as healthcare and social services.