Mazotos residents and the community council have called for the cancellation of a decision to proceed with a desalination plant on the coast, arguing that there was no public consultation and that the required studies had not been carried out.

The request was made during a meeting with Agriculture Minister Christos Senekis on Wednesday, according to Eleni Haili, spokesperson for the initiative group for the ‘salvation of the Mazotos coast’.

Haili said the group and the community council had unanimously asked for the decision to be withdrawn.

“We are absolutely convinced that this specific decision will cause irreversible impacts on the marine environments,” she said.

She said Senekis had listened to their concerns and indicated that the request for the decision to be annulled would be considered.

The dispute concerns plans for a desalination facility on the Mazotos coast, which residents have opposed since earlier this year.

The Save the Coast initiative group has some 350 members.

Residents have argued that the project was never put to public consultation and that the views of local residents and scientists were not taken into account.

Mazotos mukhtar Georgios Paphitis previously said an independent study had recommended against locating a desalination plant in the area because of protected habitats.

The community council has called for an independent environmental impact assessment, an examination of alternative locations and assurances that national and European environmental procedures are followed.

It has also raised concerns about Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows and coral reefs in the area.

The group has said the proposed facility should not be treated as a mobile desalination unit but as a “heavy industrial installation”, warning that disturbing the coastal slope could affect the stability of the wider area.

Residents have acknowledged Cyprus’ severe water shortage but said the construction of a plant on what they describe as an “unspoiled coast” was unacceptable.