Plans by developers to cut down old trees in central Vilnius have scandalised the locals. While the municipality says it tried to block the project, the developers sued and had their way. The central government says it is still looking for a solution.
Nine mature trees are growing on the corner of Basanavičiaus Street and Mindaugo Street, on a terrace square that is part of the historic Railway Administration building. Most locals and tourists know the place as the site of a statue portraying the French author Romain Gary.
A maple, six chestnuts, a white-leaved maple and a Caucasian plum tree will soon be gone from the terrace square as developers plan to construct a glass and steel structure to expand a nearby cafe. Instead of the old trees, the project envisages putting seven plant pots.
“Seven flower pots instead of nine mature trees is not landscaping, but a brutal destruction of the greenery and the aura of the place,” is how the local residents see the developer’s plans.
They are organising on Facebook to express protest. On Wednesday, the developer – a company called Dobilo Daigas (Clover Sprout) – is planning an open meeting to present the project to the public.
The discontent over the plans to cut old trees has reached the ears of the government. On Monday, Culture Minister Simonas Kairys met with the Cultural Heritage Department head, Vidmantas Bezaras, to discuss the case.
After the meeting, Kairys said he was looking into options to stop the plans and asked the Department “to assess the possibility of listing the square as a valuable feature of the whole building”.
“Another thing to consider is the possibility of interim measures. In fairness, it should be said that the law is not exactly on the side of the public interest,” Kairys told reporters on Monday.
He added that the developer was showing benevolence and was ready to further discuss the project after Wednesday’s presentation to the public.
Last week, Vilnius City Municipality announced that it had made every effort to protect the trees and denied the permits to cut them down.
However, Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, to which Dobilo Daigas appealed, ruled in the company’s favour.
The developer argued that the trees’ roots were damaging the building’s foundations. The municipality agrees that it is the case.
“The trees that have been growing here for several decades have rooted in right next to the foundations of the building. Heritage experts claim that the roots are eroding the building. The trees have also been assessed by our experts. Unfortunately, no matter how much we would like to, we do not have the legal power to protect them,” said Gintautas Runovičius, head of the Urban Management and Environmental Protection Division of Vilnius Municipality.
Dobilo Daigas is planning to expand a café that is part of the complex of the Railway Administration building, which is a protected piece of architectural heritage.
The company also rents an adjacent plot of land. The reconstruction of the building is currently under preparation and the permit was granted in June 2021.
The reconstruction project has been prepared by Senamiesčio Projektai. It was presented and approved in 2019.
According to the company, without removing the trees, it would be impossible to carry out the reconstruction.
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