The public consultation on the Environmental Impact Assessment for Nova’s mobile phone base station in Vorineza Artemida closed today, Tuesday 8 September. In the Electronic Environmental Register, where the project is listed under code 1291259 and the name ‘VORINEZA LOUTSA’, a total of eight online submissions were recorded. All eight were negative.
The number alone tells a story — but the date of each entry tells an even bigger one.
Eight appearances, one week
The consultation opened in mid-July. The announcement by the Region of Attica set the period for submitting comments as 16 July to 26 August, whilst the file in the Register ultimately remained open until today.
All eight submissions were made between 21 and 27 August — that is, during the last ten days, and after the issue had already been publicised in the local media. For more than a month, the consultation was technically open but effectively deserted.
Please note that this figure relates solely to online submissions to the Register. Comments sent by other means, such as to the email address announced by the Region, are not included in this figure.
What the appellants argue
The texts submitted — many of which are accompanied by photographs, technical reports and documents—all point to a key argument: that the issue is not merely an environmental one, but also concerns the legality of the work that has already been carried out at the site.
The objections focus on:
The construction of a road at a location where, as they claim, there was previously only a footpath — and whether this was covered by the development consent. The extent of the deforestation, citing an on-site inspection by the Penteli Forestry Office which, according to the objectors, recorded interventions over a wider area than that authorised. The distance from residential properties. The objections state that the nearest houses are between 30 and 50 metres away; the Municipal Council’s decision refers to the nearest building being 32 metres away. The risk of fire in a forested area, particularly in conjunction with the electrification of the facility. Concerns regarding electromagnetic radiation and the value of property in the area.
One of the submissions, from a mechanical engineer who states that he lives in the area, focuses on the power supply: he argues that a facility of this size requires medium-voltage infrastructure and a transformer, with all that this entails for a forested area.
These positions reflect the views expressed by members of the public during the consultation and have not been assessed by the licensing authority.
What the City Council had said
The Council’s position has already been recorded. In a decision published on the ‘Diafania’ transparency portal on 6 August, the Spata–Artemida Municipal Council unanimously rejected the Environmental Impact Assessment as submitted.
The grounds for appeal refer to omissions and contradictions in the file, to discrepancies in the coordinates of the site across the documents, ambiguity regarding the forested nature of the area, and calls for actual electromagnetic field measurements rather than theoretical calculations, as well as a fire safety study. The Council requested that the procedure should not proceed without the necessary corrections and additions.
Mayor Dimitris Markou had stated that, provided the project is approved by the Decentralised Administration of Attica, the Municipality reserves the right to appeal, on the basis of the shortcomings that have been identified.
What happens now?
Once the consultation period has ended, the file is forwarded to the competent environmental authority, which will take into account the Municipal Council’s opinion and the views submitted before issuing a decision.
At the same time, local residents have already taken action on other fronts — by collecting signatures and taking legal action. The consultation has ended; the Vorineza case has not.
iartemida.gr will resume operations following the licensing authority’s decision.
