Matera: Thirty-year dispute over urbanization works in Zone 33 resolved

“After a long and detailed discussion with the developers, the municipal council of Matera yesterday approved by majority (18 votes in favor out of 18 voters) the resolution for the project to complete the urbanization works of the commercial zone 33 in the San Giacomo area adjacent to via La Martella, with the approval of the agreement scheme to carry out the urbanization works that have been awaited for 31 years.” The mayor, Domenico Bennardi, and the urban planning councilor Antonio Materdomini announced it with satisfaction, with a note which reads that “After several meetings with the developers and technical investigations carried out by the offices, a long-standing situation and a source of inconvenience in that area of ​​the city between Via La Martella, Conversi and Degli Aragonesi was resolved. The latter will finally be connected by a level road, equipped with side sidewalks with the adaptation of the existing road system. The agreement specifies, among other things, that the municipal administration reserves the right to directly carry out the construction of the works and services in place of the developers and at their expense, taking action in the ways established by law and by regulations in force, “when they have not done so promptly and the Municipality has put them in default with no less than six months’ notice. Furthermore, the Municipality will be able to declare, to the detriment of the developers, the cancellation of the agreement (…)”. Therefore maximum guarantee for the institution and greater constraints to provide for the developers, in some cases unfortunately defaulting in the past thirty years.” «After thirty years of vicissitudes and abandonment –comments Materdomini– finally the municipal administration gives an answer to thousands of citizens of Matera who were waiting for the resolution of this problem, I thank all the councilors who I hope will vote for this measure; I especially thank the office, which I have stressed since I became a councilor. I also thank that part of the developers who made themselves available to find this agreement which responded to the provision for enforcement of the policies, which began in 2024 after 31 years. Now, with the signing of the agreement, there will be technical steps that will allow us, we hope in a very short time, to start the works and return an important work for safety and traffic to northern Matera and the inhabitants of via La Martella”. Mayor Bennardi is also satisfied and says: «A situation that had dragged on for too many years – he said – and among our administrative commitments there was also that of unblocking it. We did it in just three years, finding the best solution with a transaction that guarantees the body and the developers who signed the transaction.”