Nicosia Municipality is taking immediate legal action over nuisance and unhealthy conditions found at the former Othello cinema in Engomi.
Responding to a philenews report, the Municipality said it has instructed the immediate filing of a lawsuit against those responsible, seeking court orders to force the removal of the nuisance and restore legality. It said the move follows repeated notices and inspections that failed to secure the required compliance.
In a statement responding to philenews’s report of September 8, the Municipality said the case involves two separate issues falling under different authorities. It said the structural safety of the building is a matter for the relevant District Local Government Organisation (DLGO), which it said has assessed the building as unsuitable and dangerous and has since blocked off and fenced the site to protect public safety.
For its part, the Municipality said, it has acted on the issues within its own remit, namely the nuisance and unhealthy conditions at the site. Its Health Service carried out on-site inspections, identified the property’s owners and/or occupants, and served the legal notices calling on them to take the necessary steps to remove the nuisance, but the required compliance never followed. The Municipality added that, because the building has become dangerous, entry by its Health Officers has also become equally hazardous and difficult.
It said it treats matters of public health, safety and residents’ quality of life with particular seriousness, and would continue to monitor the case closely and exercise all its legal powers in cooperation with the DLGO and other relevant authorities. It added that, especially in matters touching on public safety, it is important to draw a clear distinction between the responsibilities of the different authorities involved and to attribute to each the actions and responsibilities that genuinely belong to it.
