Court annuls Ministry’s decision allowing construction in Atatürk Forest Farm

* Photo: aoc.gov.tr

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The Ankara Branch of the Chamber of Architects has won the lawsuit that it filed against the decision of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization which allowed construction of car parks, wedding halls, etc. in the Atatürk Forest Farm as part of a landscape project.

The Ankara 6th Administrative Court has annulled the approval of the landscape project to be undertaken in the Atatürk Forest Farm Bahçekapı area 3406 block and the change of plan underpinning the project.

Karakuş-Candan: It will not turn into concrete

Tezcan Karakuş Candan, the Ankara Branch Chair of the Chamber of Architects, has commented on the court decision.

"Experts said, 'Not a single part of Atatürk Forest Farm should be turned into concrete. Atatürk Forest Farm cannot be handled by detaching it from its symbolism and the Republican identity it represents.' The court has annulled the plan based on the expert report," she has said.

According to Karakuş Candan, the related court ruling means that the forest farm will not host buildings such as wedding halls, etc., it will not be divided by roads and no concrete will be poured.

'Actions are not lawful'

Sharing further details about the court ruling, Karakuş Candan has said that the related zoning plans for conservative purposes have been found contrary to the principles of urbanization, fundamentals of planning, the legislation on zoning and public good. Accordingly, the court has concluded that the actions that were the matter in dispute in the trial have been unlawful.

Concluding her remarks, she has underlined that "they will keep struggling against the ones who disregard the conditional donation of Atatürk and what it represents and destroy Atatürk Forest Farm."

What happened in Atatürk Forest Farm?

The Forest Farm was established in 1925 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as a private farm. One year before his passing in 1938, he wrote his last will and donated the farm to the Treasury, including all agricultural enterprises, estates and assets within the boundaries of the Farm.

What protected the Atatürk Forest Farm till 2006 was the fact that it was declared a protected area.

In 1992, the Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board declared the farm a "natural and historical protected area." In 1998, the Atatürk Forest Farm was recognized as a first-degree protected area.

In 2011, some parts of Atatürk Forest Farm were stripped of its "protected area status" and the foundations of "Presidential Complex" were laid there.

Shortly afterwards, the zoo inside the Farm was also closed and the construction of the then Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Melih Gökçek's controversial Ankapark project started.

Lastly, a 555-thousand square meter area has been allocated to the TEBA foundation, which established the Medipol group, once owned by Fahrettin Koca, the current Minister of Health of Turkey. (TP/SD)