Court cancels changes to development plan zoning Dikmen Valley for construction

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The Ankara Branch of the Chamber of Architects took a legal action against the changes made to the development plan of the Dikmen Valley in the capital city, which would zone the green spaces for construction.

The Ankara 11th Administrative Court has pronounced its ruling regarding the changes to the plan and cancelled the proceedings related to the Ankara Metropolitan Municipal Council's decision no. 1370 dated October 11, 2019, which made changes to the Dikmen Valley Last Stage 1st Segment KDGPA 1/ 5,000 and 1/ 100 scale development plans.

'The judiciary has found it justified'

Commenting on the court ruling, Chamber of Architects' Ankara Branch Chair Tezcan Karakuş Candan has said:

"They want to sacrifice our breathing spaces, which we need the most during the pandemic, to concrete and unearned income. With changes made to the development plans in violation of the public good and principles of planning, valleys in Ankara are zoned for construction."

Sharing details about the Chamber's legal struggles against these attempts, Ankara Branch Chair Karakuş Candan has stressed that "the court rulings have been showing that their struggle has been justified."

"Ankara is losing its valleys," Karakuş Candan has said, reiterating their determination "to stand firm in the face of the attempts to make the capital city breathless and to set up valleys of unearned income."

Referring to the changes made to the plans of the İmrahor, Şirindere, Hacıkadın, Zir, Dikmen, Kıbrıs, Büyükesat valleys, Karakuş Candan has raised concerns that "with lots of construction, they have disturbed the system of valleys" in the capital city of Ankara.

Concluding her remarks, Tezcan Karakuş Candan has warned:

"Zoning the regions where construction is forbidden for construction brings about serious disasters. We witnessed several examples of this before.

"Insisting on plan changes contrary to science and technics is a logic defying situation. Ankara's system of valleys and ecological balance must be protected in the light of the geography." (EMK/SD)