NOVA’s mobile phone base station at Vorineza in Artemida received a favourable opinion from the Attica Regional Council on 22 October, despite the fact that the Spata–Artemida Municipal Council had unanimously rejected the proposal in August. The station, with code 1291259 and named ‘VORINEZA LOUTSA’, is already operational. What is now under consideration is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the station and the accompanying road. The final decision on the environmental conditions will be taken by the Decentralised Administration of Attica.
What the Municipality said in August
The Regional Council sent the dossier to the Municipality on 15 July and gave it 25 working days to submit its views. The Municipal Council discussed the matter on 4 August and unanimously adopted Decision 112/2026. The resolution clarifies that licensing and health assessments fall within the remit of the EEAE, the EETT and the Decentralised Administration. The Municipality assessed the completeness of the application and found it to contain ‘substantial omissions, contradictions and unsubstantiated assumptions’. The key points are as follows:
- Two different locations. The radio emissions study and the ground survey provide coordinates that differ from those in the EIA, with a difference in the order of hundreds of metres. All calculations are based on the location.
- A building at 32 metres. For building ‘2/K’, the study calculates exposure at 63 per cent of the limit, whilst for distances of 100 to 1,000 metres it cites values 10 to 57 times below the limit. The building is not identified: it is not stated whether it is a residential property or whether it is inhabited. The Council describes it as ‘the most critical element of the dossier’.
- Calculations rather than measurements. The station is operational; therefore, as the decision notes, on-site measurements could have been taken. The study assumes an uninhabited area, whilst within a 500-metre radius the municipality counted 758 buildings.
- Wildlife sanctuary. The EIA itself states in one chapter that the project is situated within a wildlife sanctuary, yet omits this in the chapter on protected areas. The Loutsa Salt Marsh wetland is 2 kilometres away.
- Road through a forest. The access road is described at times as a ‘new road’, at other times as an ‘improvement’ and elsewhere as already constructed. Within a forested area, this distinction determines which authorisation is required.
- The mast. It is 31.05 metres high and stands at an altitude of 94.8 metres, so its top reaches approximately 126 metres near the airport, and it is guyed with wire ropes. The design refers to a 1959 load regulation and a German standard, both of which have been superseded by the Eurocodes. There is no specific fire safety assessment for a structure located within a forest.
The Council requested 13 additional details before proceeding with the process: corrected coordinates, measurements carried out by an accredited body in Building 2/K, approval for work on forest land, a structural analysis, a fire safety study approved by the Fire Service, a bird impact assessment, and licences from the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT), the Hellenic Energy Regulatory Authority (EEAE) and the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA). It also proposed conditions, should the licensing process proceed.
What happened in October
On 22 October, the Regional Council issued a favourable opinion, No. 208/2026. According to what was stated at the Municipal Council’s Accountability Meeting on Thursday 29 October, the opinion incorporates some of the conditions proposed by the Municipality: electromagnetic radiation measurements every six months, fire safety measures and the restoration of the site once the station ceases operations.
During the accountability session, councillor Anna Raftopoulou asked why no one from the council had attended the regional council meeting, given that the council had been informed as early as 16 October. The mayor, Dimitris Markou, replied that the council’s positions were already set out in writing in the dossier. He also stated that on 29 October, the Municipality had sent a nine-page memorandum (ref. no. 87572) to the Decentralised Administration of Attica, reiterating its negative opinion.
What’s next
The Region’s opinion does not constitute authorisation. The Decentralised Administration will decide whether to issue a Decision Approving Environmental Conditions and under what conditions. The text of Opinion 208/2026 has not yet been published on the ‘Diafania’ transparency portal. Once it is published, it will be clear which of the Municipality’s 13 objections have been addressed and which have not.
Source: Municipality of Spata–Artemida, Municipal Council Decision 112/2026 (18th meeting, 4 August 2026), Diafania PSF67Ω1X-901, 6 August 2026; regarding Opinion 208/2026 and the memorandum: 4th Special Accountability Meeting, 29 October 2026.
