On Thursday morning, the city council in Fredrikstad approved the expansion of Viken park. The development could become one of Norway’s biggest natural interventions in recent years. Both lawyers, politicians and others have pointed out that the project was too poorly investigated when the area was set aside for industry. At the latest this week, the company that made the impact assessment for the area part of the municipal plan said that they believe this should have been more thorough. In this room it was decided today that Viken park will be built. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news The municipality, the developer and Østfold County Council believe that everything has been done thoroughly and as it should be. Through several cases, news has told about the planning process for the development. Marianne Klever Næss from Høyre believes that jobs must come first. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news From the podium, Marianne Klever Næss (H) argued that workplaces must trump natural intervention. – For the Conservative Party, jobs and employment are absolutely essential. Of course, it also means a lot for the municipal economy, says Næss. The Labor Party also believes that Viken Park must be built. Siri Martinsen (Ap) trusts that laws and regulations have been followed, and that new jobs are essential. – This is a decision from a generational perspective. Future generations must also earn their living through work, says Martinsen. The goal is for the business park to attract companies in the green shift. The developer has told the politicians about over 1,300 jobs and large tax revenues. Requests legality check Marianne Antonsen was until last week a member of the Labor Party, but resigned. Now she has become an independent representative, and said that there will be a legality check of the case. – I and others have received input from lawyers who state that impact assessments have not been carried out legally, said Antonsen. If the legality appeal goes through, it is uncertain whether Viken Park will actually be realised. Just before the vote, a group meeting was held to discuss how the legality complaint should be made in practice. The atmosphere was tense. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news Several parties have changed their minds There have been divided opinions in the political landscape. In the first rounds, when the area was set aside for industry, the parties voted unanimously in favor. Later, several parties have turned the matter around. The Labor Party, the Conservative Party and the Progress Party have been clear throughout that they believe Viken Park must be realised. There were several audience members who had turned up to follow the case on Thursday morning. Among other things, there were representatives of the Viken Park project. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news But SV, Rødt, MDG, Bymiljølista and Venstre believe that it should rather be built on gray areas and not in nature. They are very concerned about the consequences for cultural landscapes, cultural monuments and natural diversity. – Anyone who was at the Ullevål stadium at the weekend? That was me, asked Silje Waters from SV and pointed to FFK’s cup final victory in football. – If you multiply the surface area of the Ullevål stadium by 253, then we have the size of the Viken park area to be demolished. It’s huge, Waters said from the podium in the city council. The demonstrators had met early outside the city council’s hall in Fredrikstad. With them they had pictures of Tofteberget where Viken park is to be built. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news Consequences for environmental sustainability The planning proposal will entail land confiscation and degrade areas of value for natural diversity, and affect nearby areas. A total of 12 out of 33 assessed sub-areas are significantly affected, of which one with very serious environmental damage, one with significant environmental damage and three with serious environmental damage. The planning proposal will entail direct land confiscation of cultivated and arable land, and affect mineral resources. Furthermore, the planning proposal will have negative consequences for pollution (noise, air and pollution of water and soil) through noise, dust and discharge of storm water. It has been concluded that the planning proposal allows for measures that have major negative consequences for the themes of natural diversity, cultural heritage and natural resources. Source: Proposal for area regulation for Viken Park The government issued a nature notice In autumn, the government issued a nature notice. It states that the municipalities must take more responsibility for the conservation of nature. Among other things, the government writes this in the message: “Each individual action may be small, necessary or desirable, but if we do not follow closely, the sum of the impacts can be too much for nature.” It is this forest that has been disputed in the political environment in Fredrikstad. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news The authorities have no record of nature loss. news has used artificial intelligence and mapped all nature interventions between 2017 and 2022. On that list, the entire planning area for Viken Park would be the second largest. If you only count the building area itself, not the entire planning area, Viken Park would still be number six. The government is working to get a nature account in place. Recently, a torchlight procession was organized and a signature campaign was created against the development. Around 3,100 people have signed that they do not want nature to be destroyed. Photo: Jan Kenneth Bråten / news Published 12.12.2024, at 11.07 Updated 12.12.2024, at 11.33
ttn-69
The development of the business park Viken park has been approved by the city council in Fredrikstad – news Østfold – Local news, TV and radio
