The "temporary facility" in Veriga has been established

Previous attempts by the local administration, as well as UNESCO's warnings, have not borne fruit to prevent the further operation of the "Verige 65" restaurant at the entrance to the strait, and the new draft of the Temporary Facilities Program until 2028.

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Restaurant "Verige 65" on Cape Turkey, Photo: Siniša Luković
Restaurant "Verige 65" on Cape Turkey, Photo: Siniša Luković
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The Municipality of Kotor asked the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property (MDUP) to from the Program of temporary facilities in the zone of maritime property for the period 2024-2028. year, which will be found at the Government with Euskoro, erases the hospitality facility "Verige 65" on Turkish Cape at the entrance to the Verige strait from the direction of the Bay of Kotor.

"We do not agree with the drawing of an immovable temporary facility at location 1.1 (Turski rt) for the area of ​​the Municipality of Kotor in the Program of temporary facilities in the maritime domain 2024-2028. year. According to the report of the joint reactive monitoring mission of the UNESCO/Icomos World Heritage Center for the benefit of the world heritage - natural and cultural-historical area of ​​Kotor, which was held in 2018, it is stated: "The 'temporary' existence of the object on the Turkish Cape should be limited. The definitions in the Plan for the installation of temporary structures should be changed in order to limit its application to truly temporary structures, which can obviously be returned to their original state and are temporary, and the consent to them should be limited in time," states the letter sent by the Municipality of Kotor MDUP.

Kotor mayor's administration Vladimir Jokić (Democrats) she reminded the department she heads Janko Odović that the UNESCO/Icomos mission in 2018 sent this recommendation to the then Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Kotor and the Council for Heritage, but that despite this, nothing was done, but MORT, which he then managed Pavle Radulović (DPS) a year later, the "temporary" catering facility on Cape Turkey was included in the then new Program of temporary facilities in the maritime domain for the period 2019-2023. year. In addition to the deletion of the "immovable temporary object" from the Turkish Cape, the Municipality of Kotor asked the MDUP to delete location 11.14 - the stand for selling souvenirs at the entrance to the city park, because "the existing object is not in accordance with the overall environment".

According to the currently valid Program of Temporary Buildings in the zone of marine resources, there is a stand in the form of a wooden log cabin, more suitable for Durmitor and the coast of the Black Lake than for a coastal Mediterranean environment. By the way, the controversial "immovable temporary building" on the Turkish Cape was built in 2015 by the company "Hefesta" from Herceg Novi, which was given the opportunity by the state to build a luxurious catering facility with a surface area of ​​190 square meters with terraces of 260 square meters. That facility, under strange circumstances, was included in the amended Program of temporary facilities in the marine property zone for the period 2013-2015. year, which was brought by the then Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism with the Minister Branimir Gvozdenović (DPS) at the helm.

Changes to the Program were adopted in April 2015 precisely at the initiative of "Hefesta", which is associated with the model Jelena Šćepanović, a close friend of the then prime minister and leader of the DPS Milo Đukanović. With these changes, a "prefabricated building with a terrace, approx. 190m2 in area" was planned on the site in Veriga, which belongs to the area of ​​natural and cultural-historical heritage of Kotor protected by UNESCO, on the previously untouched coast of Cape Turkey. The construction of the building, which was by no means prefabricated, but solid from concrete and stone, which entailed excavating the coast almost to sea level, was also approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, of which he was the head at the time. Ervin Spahic (SDP) as well as the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property which she led Anastasia Miranović (DPS), although that location was part of a protected natural and cultural-historical area under the protection of UNESCO. And the management of JP Morsko dobro at that time gave that company urban planning and technical conditions that correspond to the project that "Hefesta" had already made earlier and even backdated certain documents of other authorities in order to enable the implementation of the Herzegovinian company's plan to build a luxury complex in one of the most attractive locations in Boka. a restaurant with a lookout point.

The then director of the Tourist Organization of Kotor Mirza Krcic because of all this, he even publicly accused MORT and Minister Gvozdenović of "putting private interests before public interests" in this case, and the local administration of Kotor, after the coalition led by the Democrats removed the DPS from power, fiercely opposed the installation of that "temporary facility" in Veriga and repeatedly asked for its removal. Their addresses and reports that they submitted to the then supreme state prosecutor Ivica Stanković and the chief special state prosecutor Milivoj Katnić also did not have any effect, and the DPS-led state and management of JP Morsko dobr have re-inscribed the luxury restaurant, which has since been named "Verige 65", into the Program of temporary facilities in the marine dobro zone for the period 2019-2023. year.

The validity of the annexes of the last agreement between Morski Dobr and "Hephaestus" dated April 25, 2019, which prevented that company from holding that "temporary facility", however, expired on December 31 last year, since "Verige 65" on Cape Turkey has existed without formal -legally, there is no basis in the valid planning documentation and contracts of the Maritime Dobr with tenants of locations in the zone of the Maritime Dobr.

The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, as well as JP Morsko dobro, did not respond to the questions of "Vijesti" regarding the request of the Municipality of Kotor to remove the "temporary facility" from Cape Turkey, i.e. why they included it in the latest Program of temporary facilities in the marine property zone for the period 2024-2028. years, despite the clear opposition of the Municipality of Kotor and the UNESCO/Icomos mission. The question why MDUP and Morsko dobro in this case give priority to the private interests of the lessee of this location in relation to the public and general interest represented by the views of the Municipality of Kotor and international UNESCO/Icomos experts for natural and cultural heritage has not been answered.

UNESCO: The object damages the exceptional value of the property

Although the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Properties of Montenegro, which was then headed by Anastazija Miranović, in 2015 gave consent to the construction of a two-story stone-concrete "temporary building" on the Turkish Cape, the experts of the UNESCO/Icomos mission pointed out in their report from 2018 that "the brick structure the building has all the characteristics of permanence... it is a response to the small Catholic chapel from the Venetian period at the opposite point (the Church of Our Lady of the Angels" on the promontory of the same name on the Tivat side of Veriga - prim-aut.), making it look insignificant in comparison...

Its presence (masonry structures on Cape Turkey - prim..aut) removes the illustration of historical distinction, since this side (Cape Turkey) is historically unbuilt. According to the opinion of the mission, it damages the Outstanding Universal Value of the property", wrote six years ago the experts of the UNESCO/Icomos mission, but the state authorities of Montenegro, including the current MDUP, do not seem to want to hear that.

In the new program, it is an "immovable temporary facility"

That catering facility is also included in the Program of temporary facilities in the maritime domain until 2028, which will soon be presented to the Government, under the name "immovable temporary facility".

In the section "type according to purpose", it is stated that it is an observation deck with a parking lot and a temporary catering facility with a terrace, the size of which is basically 190 square meters and the terraces around the facility are 260 square meters.

"The building has a ground floor and a basement. The viewpoint includes the following facilities: parking lot, existing catering facility (restaurant), public lighting, public furniture - benches, planters with flowers, viewing telescope, trash cans, etc. The entire area must be fenced-safe for visitors. The belt around the viewpoint and the sea area must be renovated, reinforced with walls and connected to the viewpoint by stairs on the left and right. Landscaping of part of the seashore - already existing port. Adapt the parking lot for safe and secure entry/exit from/to the location," the proposed program says.

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