On February 12, things went wrong. Four foreign tourists were sent to hospital after the cabin they were staying in in Lofoten was blown into the sea and crushed into sticks. The dramatic and life-threatening situation arose because the cabins could not withstand the strong wind in the area. The French tourist Vincent Dussauze told news about a traumatic experience while he and the three others in the cabin waded around in the foaming and icy sea in pitch darkness. – Everything went very quickly, but I had time to think: “now we’re going to die”, Dussauze said. In the aftermath of the accident, several people have asked themselves how the cabin could be swept out to sea in that way. – Here the regulations have not been followed at all, and there is a lack of building control, stated Professor Per-Arne Sundsbø at the Department of Building, Energy and Materials Technology at UiT in Narvik. Important document missing The police are in full swing with an investigation, and the tourists have been in for questioning. Part of the police investigation still remains before the conclusion is clear. Now a survey carried out by news shows that the owner of the campsite has left out an important thing before they started renting out the site: an application for a temporary use permit or completion certificate has never reached the municipality. It must be in place before you can start renting, say experts news has been in contact with. A sea shed was blown to sea in Å in Moskenes. Four people stayed in the sea shed, and have been sent to hospital. – There is a requirement for a temporary use permit or completion certificate to use a camping cabin. This also applies to a temporary camping cabin that will be used for accommodation, says Frode Grindahl to news. He is subject director in the Directorate for Building Quality. Liv Zimmermann is a lawyer and partner in the law firm Hjort. She is aware that you cannot run a rental without applying for a certificate of completion. Photo: Advokatfirmaet Hjort DA – Can’t grant dispensation He gets support from lawyer and partner in the law firm Hjort, Liv Zimmermann. She is one of the country’s foremost experts on planning and building law. – The municipality cannot grant a dispensation from the case management rules. This means that they cannot grant a waiver from the requirement for a temporary use permit or completion certificate either, she says. Both speak on a general basis. Big plans It was in 2020 that the current owners of the campsite put NOK 9 million on the table to secure the property. Since then, several measures have been taken. The old cabins have been demolished, and a tourism facility with 30 camping cabins has stood on the planning block. “Our concept is based on a basic idea of making guests more aware of the challenges facing the vulnerable nature in Lofoten by ensuring that employees and guests are made aware of the Open Air Act, whereby traffic and other activities in the natural and cultural landscape must not lead to a negative impact on circumstances”. But they never got that far, before the collaboration with the architectural firm ran aground. Last year, the project gained new momentum. By then, a new architectural firm had come on board, and an application to set up five temporary rental cabins was submitted. Here, too, the municipality gave the thumbs up. In the application, the developers wrote: “The aim is to be able to quickly get activity in the campsite during the period the campsite is developed and rebuilt. There is a desire for a temporary measure to be able to test the site’s potential and possibilities. The campsite has been dead for a long time, with old buildings and no maintenance”. Sent application on 12 July 2022, the company started renting out the cabins. news has been given access to all documents related to the building case from Moskenes municipality. The documents show that the municipality has never received an application for a completion certificate for the temporary cabins. Only when the plan was to make them permanent was the application sent. Thus, the owners have rented out the cabins for over half a year, without having the necessary papers in place. The cabin that stands next to the one that blew on the sea was also moved by the wind, but luckily it went better there. Photo: Helge Lyngmoe / news Carl-Olav Løvald and Vidar Femdal Røe own the campsite through their company. news has made several attempts to get answers from them. They don’t answer the phone. When news sends a text message asking whether they have sent an application for a completion certificate for the cabins, news receives back a document from Røe. The picture shows a document from the municipality. It says: According to lawyer Liv Zimmermann, this is only the permission to set up the cabins, and not a permission to use them. news has confronted the owners about this, but they have not answered our inquiries. Neither by phone, text message or e-mail. Previously, Vidar Femdal Røe stated: – My attention is primarily directed at the guests who were exposed to the accident. I cannot comment on technical matters until they have been clarified. I can assure you that I take this very seriously and will take all necessary measures. What was left of the cabin, which lay on the shore below where it had previously stood. Photo: Tommy Johansen Could rent from 3 February Only on 13 January this year was the application for a completion certificate submitted. Then the owners wanted to make the cabins permanent. But that application was never answered by the municipality. Thus, the owners could legally start letting on 3 February this year. The Planning and Building Act allows for this. – If the municipality does not respond to an application for a completion certificate within three weeks, the building can be used. But then at your own risk with regard to all requirements being met. Failure to find a completion certificate therefore does not necessarily mean that the building has been illegally taken into use, says Zimmermann. The police will review the documents The police are in full swing with their investigation. Among other things, two experts have been appointed. – During the week, one of the experts will go out together with one of our forensic technicians and look at the crime scene. Here, they must, among other things, check whether the foundation has been done properly. Then someone will take a closer look at the documents in the case, says police station chief Ketil Finstad-Steira.
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The sea shacks that blew onto the sea in Moskenes may have been rented out illegally – news Nordland
