The Limassol municipality is to “redesign” its social policy, mayor Yiannis Armeftis said on Thursday.

He said that within the next three months, his municipality “seeks to bring local government and civil society closer together through an open dialogue”, and that “through this structured and participatory process, we want to achieve a positive change”.

To do this, he said, his municipality will “listen to the positions” of residents, with the aim of “recording good ideas, suggestions and opinions”.

“Our goal is for the new social policy to bear the seal of the people, and for this process to be an essential step in shaping policies that improve their quality of life,” he said.

As such, he said, a consultation day will be held at the city’s Panos Solomonides cultural centre on October 30, with the people of Limassol invited to attend and offer suggestions for how the municipality can work for them.

After that event, a “series of workshops and consultations” will be held, alongside an “online dialogue”, which will use “modern digital tools”, with the aim of “eliciting ideas and suggestions from the general public”.

“The proposals that will be collected will be utilised in the process of shaping the municipality’s new social policy,” he said, adding that once the process is complete, another event will be held to present “the main conclusions as well as the priorities of the new strategy”.

He added that the new policy is expected to “focus on key social issues, such as the cost of living and housing, elderly care, accessibility and inclusiveness, gender planning and the integration of people with a migrant background”.

The reference to the cost of living and housing comes with Limassol remaining Cyprus’ most expensive city in which to live, with the average monthly cost of renting a house having risen as high as €5,099 in July, according to a report released by Landbank analytics.

This figure is almost double Nicosia’s average of €2,756 per month.

Landbank’s chief executive officer Andreas Christophorides said that Limassol “continues to serve as a powerful magnet for demand, driving rental prices upward amid sustained economic activity and limited housing supply”.

Meanwhile, reports on Wednesday had stated that the Limassol municipality is set to receive over €17 million in state grants next year as municipalities across the island prepare to submit their budgets for the year ahead.

The finance ministry has urged municipalities to prepare their budgets with “prudence and rationality”, and to “remain within their financial capabilities”.