The residents of Sveti Stefan and Pržno, more than a hundred of them signed the petition, on behalf of the "Sveti Stefan" Local Community, sent an urgent letter to the Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism Ani Novaković Đurović in which they demand that the review process of the "Kraljičina plaža" hotel project, a multi-story concrete building that endangers the century-old Miločerski Park, be initiated immediately.
As written in the letter, which "Vijesti" had access to, the locals are asking for twice the number of floors, and for the green area to be left on the site where the third building, which has not yet been built, is planned.
"We, the undersigned citizens of the Municipality of Sveti Stefan, demand that the revision procedure of the construction project "Hotel Kraljičina plaža" which is being built on plot 970 KO Sveti Stefan, the total area of the building is 21.954,10 square meters, two floors, basement, ground floor, four floor, approved by the decision of August 2, 2019. We demand this because we believe that this project significantly threatens the zone of natural and cultural assets of the old royal complex of the Miločer park", it is written in the memo, which "Vijesti" had access to.
As they say, the architect Branislav Mitrovic, who was a member of the jury for the selection of the tender solution, told "Vijesti" that what is now being built at that location is significantly different from what was presented in the tender solution that was chosen by the jury.
"This raises suspicions about numerous irregularities in the process of developing and adopting the project. Likewise, the procedure to protect the Miločer complex as a cultural asset was recently initiated, so it is inadmissible to carry out any construction projects in the park until that procedure is completed. We demand a revision of the subject project in such a way that the project fits into the environment and the cultural and natural landscape of Miločer. We are asking for twice as many floors, with the removal of 50 percent of the materials on the already built buildings, their cladding with stone in accordance with the old royal buildings in the immediate vicinity, and leaving a green area in the place where the third building, which has not yet been built, is planned," the letter concludes.
At the construction site of the "Kraljičina plaža" hotel with outbuildings, construction machinery has been idle for months. The company "Adriatic Properties", the tenant of the elite hotel complex Sveti Stefan - Miločer, which is the investor, has stopped the construction, as it is waiting for the outcome of the arbitration proceedings before the court in London.
"Adriatic properties" decided to build a hotel last year, after the locals broke the gate on Kraljičina beach, and the Public Company for the Management of Marine Resources prevented the installation of a new gate, which, according to the management of that state-owned company, had been installed illegally all previous years. Sveti Stefan" and Villa Miločer closed. The reason for this is that it cannot guarantee guests discretion and peace.
Before the Court of Arbitration in London, "Adriatic properties" initiated a procedure demanding 100 million in compensation for non-compliance with the contract, and the Government and its company "Sveti Stefan hoteli" retaliated with their own lawsuit. Grad hotel is closed for the second season.
In 2007, the government leased the most elite domestic summer resort, the city hotel "Sveti Stefan", Villa Miločer and the then hotel "Kraljičina plaža".
According to the contract at that time, the guaranteed annual rent is 1,6 million euros, but the contract stipulates that the rent can be revised every third year.
The lessee undertook to keep the hotels open for a minimum of 11 months, but also to invest 50 million euros in the reconstruction of St. Stefan.
The annex to the contract from 2015 for "Sveti Stefan" extended the lease for 12 years, until 2049, and reduced the rent from 1,6 million to 1,1 million euros.
The annex for "Kraljičina plaža" extended the lease from 30 to 90 years and enabled the construction of a hotel with annexes (apartments for sale) on the site of the old hotel in the century-old park.
According to the project, the new hotel "Kraljičina plaža" will have two underground floors with 137 parking spaces, a ground floor and four floors. The facility will have 126 accommodation units, of which 60 rooms and 66 apartments for sale, with 262 beds. The surface of the hotel rooms will be from 30 to 70 square meters and are designed as single and double rooms. The apartments will be 62 to 317 square meters in size, and are designed as two-bed, three-bed, four-bed, five-bed and six-bed apartments. The apartments will have a dining room, a living room, two to four bedrooms with a bathroom and a wardrobe, a study, a staff room, a kitchen and a terrace with greenery.
The building permit is legal
The Supreme Court rejected as unfounded the request of the Municipality of Budva to review the ruling of the Administrative Court, which rejected the complaint of the metropolis of tourism against the consent of the chief state architect on the conceptual design of the Kraljičina plaža hotel in Pržno. At the beginning of May last year, the Administrative Court rejected the lawsuit of the Secretariat for the Protection of Assets of the Municipality of Budva, which asked to cancel the decision of the former chief state architect Dušan Vuksanović, who in early August 2019 gave his consent to the preliminary design of the new hotel.
In a lawsuit against the then Ministry of Sustainable Development - Directorate of the Chief State Architect, the Administrative Court was presented with the fact that the consent was given illegally, contrary to the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for the coastal area.
The Supreme Court confirmed the ruling of the Administrative Court, and that the decision of the Chief State Architect on granting consent is legal.
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