UNESCO stated that skyscrapers in Prague may be a problem

Prague - The civic association Arnika claims that according to UNESCO, the planned high-rise buildings on the Pankráce plain could pose a problem. It is based on a letter from the director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, Francesco Bandarin, stating that the center was not informed about the construction projects. This is stated in a press release from Arnika received by ČTK today. However, neither Prague nor the investor agrees with this.
Several associations criticizing the investor's intention say that high-rise buildings could lead to Prague being removed from the UNESCO list. Therefore, in March, they turned to the organization's officials asking them to pay attention to this matter. Now they claim a response has come.
"The World Heritage Center was not informed about any large-scale construction projects in proximity to or inside the World Heritage site," Martin Skalský from Arnika quoted from Bandarin's letter. "The obligation of the parties to the Convention is to protect the sites in their territory and also to inform the World Heritage Center about any ongoing projects that may threaten the integrity of the relevant site," the director of the center further stated in the response.
Bandarin, according to Arnika, turned to the Czech authorities to send their remarks. He also requested the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS to provide an assessment of the building projects.
According to Arnika, the main objection of the association has been confirmed, namely that the Czech Republic has not discussed the high-rise building project with the UNESCO headquarters and has violated its commitment. According to Skalský, this matter could end in an international scandal.
The City Hall asserts that Prague's position regarding the planned construction on the Pankráce plain is not threatened. "These are absolute nonsense," said Jan Kněžízek, director of city hall heritage officials, earlier. A positive statement was reportedly issued by the National Heritage Institute as well. Representatives of the investor do not agree with the opinions of civic associations either.
"We do not share the activists' concerns that Prague could be removed from the UNESCO list due to the implementation of our projects," Tomáš Laštovka from the investment company ECM told ČTK today. He pointed out that Bandarin only states in the letter that the building project has been submitted to other authorities for evaluation. "Since we do not know what materials were provided to Mr. Bandarin by the civic initiatives, we are prepared to provide all and, above all, objective information about the proposed project and will cooperate with all authorities," Laštovka added.
Two more high-rise buildings are set to be added to the existing ones in Pankráci. Compared to the original plans, they are not supposed to exceed the height of the former Motokov, now City Empiria.