The leadership of the Zlín city hall is against the cancellation of the park behind the theater

Zlín - The leadership of Zlín's city hall, the STAN movement and ANO, is against the abolition of the park behind the theater in the city center. A private investor planned to build a multipurpose building in the park, but according to valid contracts, the building would have to be completed by the end of this year. In the case of a possible extension of the loan, representatives of STAN will not raise their hands in the council or in the assembly, said the mayor's assistant Ondřej Běták (STAN) today to ČTK. The deputy Patrik Kamas (ANO) expressed the same opinion. Recently, ecologists also protested against the abolition of the park and the removal of trees, and people signed a petition.
    "This building is supposed to be completed by the end of this year, which is unrealistic. The investor has already missed the second deadline and should not receive another. That is the position of our club in the city assembly," said Běták. Kamas told ČTK that he would not support an extension of the contract that is not being fulfilled. ČTK was unable to obtain a statement from the investor.
    The investor also requested permission to cut down trees in the park late, doing so only after the end of the vegetation rest period. Therefore, according to the city hall, it is highly unlikely that he will receive permission; exceptions are granted by the city council only in exceptional cases.
    The intention to build a house in the park emerged several years ago, and the then leadership of the city supported it. "The investor was unable to realize the construction within the agreed timeframe, thus the city council extended the loan for the land until the end of this year by a narrow majority in 2011. The reason they raised their hands in favor was the fact that they did not want to definitively halt a long-prepared project," said Běták.
    According to the city leadership, the park could serve for various performances or leisure activities. It is already being used by theater artists during the Setkání/Stretnutie festival. "We will propose its cultural enhancement and equipment in this spirit," said councilor František Pilka (STAN).
    The decision of the city hall was welcomed by ecologists from the Ecocenter Čtyřlístek, who symbolically initiated the creation of a living chain around the trees in the park on April 22, Earth Day. "This is good news. We hope that everything will turn out well, and the trees will blossom again next spring," said Martin Davidov, chairman of the association to ČTK. By the end of April, about 1400 people had signed the petition against the cutting down of trees. The park features mature trees, one of which is a larch that received the most votes from the residents of Zlín in the Tree of the Year 2014 survey.