Illegal bungalows in Schinias-Marathon National Park being probed
The municipal authority of Marathon, East Attica, has vowed to launch a probe into the illegal construction of 13 seaside bungalows on a privately owned plot of land inside a Natura-protected national park.
Responding to a report on Thursday by state broadcaster ERT, which revealed that the bungalows cropped up in the place of a trailer park between 2015 and 2018, Marathon Deputy Mayor Christos Stamou claimed that jurisdiction for that area came under his municipality’s purview only recently and that the local authority was only now aware of the breach of environmental protection regulations.
“There were 13 trailer homes on this plot for 17 years. Then they left because the owner decided to evict them from his land, and now we have this. This plot is entirely inside the boundaries of the Schinias-Marathon National Park, which was classified as a Natura site with complete protection by presidential decree in 2000. Suddenly, within three years, these properties started being built, so that the trailers became luxury bungalows. The inspection mechanisms and relevant services will be mobilized,” Stamou told ERT.
He also claimed that there are supposed to be eight guards patrolling the park on behalf of its management agency, who are responsible for identifying violations and infringements.
The state broadcaster confirmed that the case of this particular violation has been brought to the attention of the judicial authorities, which are conducting their own investigation into the matter.
Stamou also claimed that a fire-prevention system installed in the park several years ago is not operating, though he did not clarify whether something is being done to rectify the situation.
