A new hotel in the heart of Zakopane, close to the final. There is consent to complete the works. The city fought for years

The Provincial Construction Supervision Inspector, after the investor's dismissal, allowed the resumption of construction works on a large-scale development building in Zakopane in the buffer zone of the Tatra National Park – inspector Artur Kania told PAP in a letter.

The decision concerns the investment carried out at the outlet of the Biały Valley. It is a six-story commercial building intended for short-term, public rental of premises for tourist purposes, with a two-story underground garage.

The investment has been opposed for years by the Zakopane authorities, residents and nature conservation groups. The city indicates that the local development plan allowed only for the reconstruction of the previously existing one-story guesthouse, with the possibility of slightly enlarging its volume. According to the local government, the facility under construction is a completely new development on a much larger scale.

For these reasons, the mayor of Zakopane and the Tatra staroste twice refused to issue a building permit. However, the final consent was given in 2020 by the Małopolska Voivode as the second instance authority. This decision remained in legal circulation, despite attempts by the city authorities to challenge it and refer the case to the administrative court. The investor constructed a building, which was roofed and closed, but the District Construction Supervision stopped further work after finding that the works were carried out with “significant deviations from the approved design”.

However, after the Małopolska investor's appeal, the Provincial Construction Supervision Inspector did not share the assessment of the district inspector. It found that restructuring proceedings could be conducted independently of other administrative disputes.

“The Małopolska Provincial Construction Supervision Inspector in Krakow, after considering the appeal, overturned the contested decision of the District Construction Supervision Inspector in Zakopane, approved the replacement construction design for the construction of a service building intended for short-term public rental of premises for tourist purposes, allowed the resumption of construction works and imposed on the Investor the obligation to obtain an occupancy permit” – we read in letter of the Małopolska Inspectorate.

A complaint may be lodged against the supervision decision to the Provincial Administrative Court in Kraków. (PAP)

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