TALLINN - In the draft of a letter to UNESCO, the Tallinn city government has promised to keep in mind the need to protect the Old Town, though civic leaders are having difficulties changing site plans that have already been endorsed. The city council was set to discuss the draft letter on April 12. "As for the implementation of decisions made in the 1990s [reconstruction of housing next to the town wall in Laboratooriumi Street, tall buildings in the Old Town protection zone, such as an extension to the Viru Hotel], it is legally difficult to change these processes," the draft letter says.
The city government states that the respective plans and drawings have been endorsed by all necessary agencies, including conservation bodies, and have been established in accordance with the existing procedure.
But the city stressed that it has started to draw up a plan of environmentally valuable areas, which places a high value on the need to protect the Old Town. It is expected that the plan will be established in 2007.
Also, the master plan for downtown Tallinn is being drawn up, covering the Old Town, its protection zone as well as the surrounding area and establishing the indicators for the construction of new buildings. The plan will be presented to the City Council this year.
"The plan, which is set to be completed soon, stipulates areas suitable for the building of high-rises in Tallinn, bearing in mind limitations set by the Old Town observation sector," the city government points out.
The city also underlines that, in recent years, motor traffic has been considerably curbed in the Old Town Conservation Area entered into the UNESCO World Heritage List.
UNESCO sent a letter to the Tallinn City Government at the beginning of March. It recommended dropping plans to extend the Viru Hotel and to privatize the Scania Bastion, citing a development expert's opinion.
At the beginning of last December, Giorgio Piccinato, an expert of the World Heritage Committee, visited Tallinn at the invitation of the UNESCO Estonian National Committee, with the request to assess real estate development risks to the historical center of Tallinn.
In Piccinato's opinion, the location of the Viru Hotel next to the Old Town is bad enough as it is, because it throws off the historical city's silhouette. The extension will make things even worse, the expert said.
