New monastery gets green light from environment department

The green light was given on Tuesday for the construction of the Ayios Minas monastery in Pentalia, Paphos by the environment department.

However, in it ruling the department said that certain conditions have been set.

In a ruling issued in February, the department said if its instructions on how to build the monastery are followed, then “any [environmental] impacts from the construction and operation of the project are expected to be preventable and manageable”.

The project is located in an agricultural area, a zone in which there is already a church and a residence, and therefore, its operation “will not affect the aesthetics of the landscape”.

According to the department, the monastery will include six rooms for nuns’ accommodation, a medical centre, a bank, a refectory, a marketplace, a prayer room, a library, a sacristy, a kitchen and four common sanitary rooms.

The monastery will accommodate six nuns throughout the year.

The department said the construction of the project under study should follow the conventional construction methodology. It explains that necessary excavations will be required, where appropriate excavated soils will be temporarily stored in a specific site and then used for backfilling.

Among other things, it is stated that the flooring will be paved with ceramics on the interior and the exterior will be paved.

The underground parking lot will be paved with natural stone.

Among other things it is stated that in front of the building the existing trees will be retained, and a small garden will be created. At the rear of the building also during the construction stage the existing trees will not be affected.

Along the boundary, cypress and fruit trees will be planted.

Construction work will commence upon issuance of the building permit and is estimated to take approximately 18 months. The cost is estimated at €1,157,422.