Přerov is preparing for a fundamental transformation of the devastated Roma locality

Přerov - The leadership of the Přerov city hall is ready to support a fundamental transformation of the devastated Roma area on Škodova Street, near the train station. The company that won the tender plans to demolish nine apartment buildings inhabited primarily by Roma and build new multifunctional residential buildings in their place. According to the mayor, the background of the company, which representatives of Přerov investigated directly at its headquarters in Slovakia, convinced the city’s leadership. The city council will discuss this step next month.
    The city is already planning to send outreach workers for the Roma due to the change in housing. Approximately 500 people live in the area. The city’s plans are not well received by them.
    The company Immofin is supposed to acquire nine buildings along with the land for 1.5 million crowns. They plan to demolish the houses, clear the land, and build residential multifunctional buildings with commercial spaces there. "We were convinced by this. They see Přerov as a dominant city relative to Olomouc. Here, unlike in Olomouc, apartments are cheaper. The transportation accessibility to the regional city is short. This would also increase the population here. They want to build about 200 apartments," said Přerov Mayor Jiří Lajtoch (ČSSD) to ČTK.
    He noted that the city’s leadership intends to set parameters for sales to protect both the area and the residents living there. The plan accounts for the fact that tenants of this area, among them many non-payers, will be relocated to other places. Out of the local eighty city rental apartments, 61 are currently occupied.
    The Roma, of whom several hundred live in the area, do not hide their concerns and have already turned to the Minister without Portfolio Džamila Stehlíková. They ask her to oversee the sale of the houses. People have previously told ČTK that they fear worse housing. "We have the feeling that they want to relocate us to ghettos. I don’t like it," said Andrej Džuga to ČTK earlier.
    However, the city’s leadership claims that it will oversee the relocation. "We have never hidden our intention; we want the local residents to participate in the discussions and know what is happening," added Mayor Lajtoch.
    The city hall is also currently planning cooperation with outreach workers. "The Department of Social Affairs and Health will be in charge of this. If the sale passes at the city council, the outreach workers will inform the current residents of their options, what they should ask from the new owner so that they do not succumb to the temptations of cash in hand, but demand a roof over their heads. We will definitely conduct this awareness-raising here," said Deputy Mayor of Přerov Elena Grambličková (ODS) to ČTK.
    The definitive stance on the transformation of the area will be discussed by the Přerov city council next Wednesday. This item should be on the table for the city councilors on April 16.
    The city hall has been dealing with the issue of the devastated problematic area for several years. The city leadership admits that it has not invested any money in it for a long time. The previous city leadership had already come up with the option to sell the houses to a private owner. The plan for the transformation of this area was supposed to be discussed by the city council last October, but the city leadership decided to postpone the decision until after the municipal elections due to criticism.