– You don’t hear a boat here, maybe a small dinghy there, says Per-Erik Schulz, MDG mayoral candidate in Kraków.
Per-Erik Schulze (MDG) will halt plans for a new shantytown in the coastal zone at Kragerø.
Photo: Lars Dore Endresen / NRK
Now he fears that the quiet part of Kragerøskjærgården will turn violent.
In total, developers are planning 500 new vacation homes. Investment company Fredensborg owns most of them.
Fjord arm can have great pressure
Schulze reacts to one plan in particular, and wants the municipality removed from the plan. It’s about a new one A shanty town with around 200 holiday homes within a 100 meter belt.
“Unique, sustainable and well-thought-out” are the words that mark Fredensborg Frit’s marketing, asking people to register their interest.
Fredensborg Fritid wants to develop the old quarry into a picturesque lake with around 200 holiday homes.
Photo: Fredensborg Rest
– This is a huge project. Schulz says it will be the biggest shanty town project in Kraków in many years
There are already around 3,500 holiday homes in Kragerøskjærgåden.
– Everyone definitely needs a dock and a boat. Preferably more than one boat. So, says a local MDG politician, there will be tremendous pressure on this quiet arm of the fjord if something happens.
A working group has been launched
Now he has launched an action group that, within weeks, has gained 700 members in a municipality of more than 10,000 people.
– The working group has a specific purpose. He says these projects are stalled.
It’s not just life in the fjord that worries him. He explains that the municipality turns off the fountains in the center so that all the houses have enough water in the summer.
– We know that the Crazero cannot tolerate high cabin pressure. He says we don’t have the infrastructure, the municipality lacks water, sewage treatment capacity, parking etc.
On the map you can see where there are currently confirmed plans for holiday homes in Kraków.
Open to the public
One The latest report from Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (NINA) showed that a beach survey in a Norwegian municipality over the next few years allocated an area corresponding to approximately 12,000 football pitches.
Also in Kragerø, several areas have been reserved, but the developers have not progressed in the process.
Soon the politicians will have a new shanty town on the table. The local Center Party Mayor will not reject the plan:
– It is an area that has disappeared by nature. It is an old quarry. This adds up when it comes to biodiversity and the destruction of nature, says Gründe W. Knudson.
In the area where the new slum town is planned, encroachment on nature is already rampant.
Photo: Lars Dore Endresen / NRK
He also stresses that it is important for the municipality to be predictable.
– I care a lot about being consistent and predictable. In the earlier period when I stepped in and supported individual projects, I promised to continue that approach, he says.
He says the municipalities have not come to any conclusion. The number may be less, but not more.
– He says there will be demands from municipal politicians when the time comes.
The centrist mayor is clear that the municipality will not now allocate new areas for leisure development in the city council.
– He says that new cottage projects in Kragerø have probably stopped.
– Created in close collaboration with political leadersOtherwise
A number of projects survive which are part of the planning system of the municipality.
In an email to NRK, the owner of the building, Fredensborg, and the municipal administration sitting on it, writes that they enjoy great support for their plans from a large part of the population.
– It’s good for local people to be involved in the development of their municipality, says Knut Bremer, head of property development at Fredensborg Fritit.
He pointed out that the Municipal Council It gave them the visibility they needed to create the new cabin town, which they now market extensively on social media and online.
– Over the years, we have developed this project in close cooperation with the political leadership of Kragerø Municipality, which represents the local population. The municipality has given us the necessary forecast to build Litangan, he says.
Fredensborg points out that the area is currently cordoned off and closed to public traffic.
The cottage town was inspired by traditional seaside dwellings in Krajeero, Rorpoo in Lofoten and mountain villages in Santorini, and was designed by Lunhagame Architecture Office.
Photo: Fredensborg Rest
– With our project, natural areas are reused – for the enjoyment of both residents and visitors. By working with marine biologists, we will ensure more abundant marine life than today, and more abundant flora. “Investigations show that our project will positively impact the environment in the area,” Bremer says.
Not going to give up
The Action Team has no intention of giving up. They hope the new city council will say a clear no to the plans. It’s not too late, says MDG politician Schulz.
– Only when cabins are under construction with building permit. Only then is there a delay and the municipality can claim compensation. But to stop a project, about something that is not yet built, there is no problem. The municipality can do that at any time, he said.
He is dismayed at how the ban on building in the coastal zone is handled locally, and believes that big developers who can draw up zoning plans can convince municipal politicians more easily than others. Among others, laws on jobs during construction and a large tourism industry.
– Then you can still overcome, I would say, very large development projects in the coastal zone, says Schulze.
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