The construction of the kindergarten in Semily is still dragging on, it will be finished only in the autumn

Semily – The construction of a new kindergarten in Semily is still being delayed. According to the original plans, the kindergarten was supposed to be operational last fall, but it now seems it will be a year later. The project, costing over 100 million, was complicated right from the start of the construction, then the work was prolonged due to the coronavirus, and now the completion is hindered by issues with furniture and interior equipment delivery. The town hall had to announce the tender for the third time. This was stated today by mayor Lena Mlejnková.

"We have a problem with the tender for furniture, both for loose and built-in furniture. There is a significant issue with materials, we are struggling with it everywhere. Moreover, even when offers come in, they may not be in order or complete, and since the kindergarten is subject to grant funding, we naturally have to comply with all legal standards," added the mayor of Semily. According to her, the main delays are in the delivery of materials. "From the moment we select a company, it will still take a long time for the material to be available," she added.

The construction of the new kindergarten on the site of unsuitable buildings from the 1980s has been planned in Semily since 2009, but the town struggled for a long time to secure grants for it. In 2015, the town hall announced an architectural competition, which attracted interest from about 200 architectural studios. About a third of them sent in proposals, not only from the Czech Republic but also from Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Sweden, Spain, and Japan. The proposal had to address the fact that the building will house two independent educational programs – alongside the standard kindergarten, there will also be a Waldorf one.

The design by Marek Topič won the competition. His single-story building will feature a green roof, but it impressed the jury mainly with its layout with minimal hallways and the flexible intertwining of two circles with a shared background. The town hall received 82 million crowns for the construction from the Integrated Regional Operational Program (IROP). Before the kindergarten for 110 children is completed, the children are in temporary facilities at Komenského Square next to the elementary art school. The town hall has renovated the building for preschoolers. Once the children move to the new kindergarten, the art school, which is currently lacking space, will use it.

According to Mlejnková, the children should move to the new building at the beginning of the new school year this September. "And because of this delay, now we will address whether we can make use of it. In Semily, we do not have sufficient capacity in kindergartens for Ukrainian refugee children, so we could partially use the current temporary kindergarten for these children. But we will be addressing that soon," added the mayor of Semily.