A conflict has erupted in Aktobe between residents and the owner of a plot of land leased for the construction of a car service centre and car wash. The trigger was the felling of trees along Nokina Avenue, where, according to locals, the businessman destroyed more than 20 trees in a matter of days.
According to ORDA, these plantings, which had been put in by the city administration (akimat), served as a barrier against road dust and exhaust fumes.
It has emerged that the businessman leased the plot in front of the residential buildings in 2021. This year, he decided to build a car service centre and car wash on it.
However, according to the city akimat, permission was only given for the transplantation of five trees. Meanwhile, local residents say that at least four times that number of green spaces were felled on the site.
"The akimat planted these trees 14 years ago to protect us from the dust and dirt from the highway, because cars and trucks drive there around the clock. We waited so long for them to grow. Then we were happy when they did. And then, just like that, they want to chop it all down. How can they do that? There's no air to breathe in the city, there's illegal felling everywhere," complained local resident Nuriya Yegenbergenova.
Meanwhile, residents of the microdistrict are threatening to take firm action if the tree felling continues.
"Why didn't the akimat ask the residents whether we agreed to this or not? If this continues, people will come out and block the highway. And then, maybe, something will change," said Valentina Kazachenko, a resident of the microdistrict.
For his part, the director of the urbanism centre of the Aktobe department for land relations, architecture and urban planning, Shynbolat Oryntai, stated that work on the site had been suspended following numerous complaints from residents. According to him, the akimat is currently negotiating with the businessman.
At the same time, a residents' action group has already filed complaints with the prosecutor's office and the Aktobe akimat. They are demanding not only a halt to the felling, but also that the business development be refused in the residential area. Instead, residents propose to turn the site into a public space — a park or a recreation area.
Earlier, the editorial team of FBRK covered changes in the construction policy of Karaganda, analysing conflicts between developers and local residents using the example of protests in the Orbita-1 microdistrict and the potential development of the site of the former Fata Morgana complex. We also suggested possible paths to a compromise that could take into account the needs of all parties.