greenbelt/protected land

[kevywevy]

Hi
does anyone know if the olive grove above the petrol station is protected land (greenbelt)and cannot be built on ? I own a villa above the grove and at present have unblocked views of kalkan harbour and love those beautiful views when i stay there and wake in the mornings and would like to feel they would remain forever.
regards kev

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=1071.0

[DRBD]

Wouldn''t be too optimistic, there have been rumours of Greenbelt in various areas which have then been built on.  We have one so called area near us which we were told would not be built on, have since been advised that it belongs to a family and when the elder dies, the eldest son has plans for it re building.      We have had building in front of us which we were told would not go above our first floor, well its gone far beyond that and we can''t do anything about it !!  But on the brighter side,enjoy what you have.

[kevywevy]

Thanks for your reply ,true i should make the most of what i have while i have it ,in my favour is that i have a small road in front of the villa before the olive grove and if someone did build in front it would be down the hill from me enough to maybe not block my view,all wishful thinking maybe ,but you have to think positive don''t you .
 Roll on April as i need a great view fix
kev

[DRBD]

That sounds more promising if you have the road there, do you have a garage attached to your property, or parking area designated to your property.  Where you are located & from what we have seen you should still keep some of your views, the slope there is to your advantage unless someone goes higher than they should do !!!

[felicity]

Same as us Kevywevy..we have an olive grove in front of us and I doubt very much that it is protected and I know that it is just a matter of time until it is built on.....so every summer that comes - make me thankful that I have that wonderful for another season - this will be our third with our view - so living on borrowed time maybe - but I count every day..!!

[vicksen]

If you have built a villa on this land, how can you possibly object to somebody else doing the same?

[DRBD]

Personally not objecting to the buildings in front of us, its too late now anyway, we have got the better side of them, the back, so no one sitting on their balcony overlooking our garden etc. At least we know that no one else can build there, there is no room, only objection is that a well known builder can get away with breaking the local planning regulations, and this was checked out by our solicitors.

Still it has happened and can do nothing about it so we get on with it and enjoy what we have, may have lost most of our view of the bay but still have the wonderful mountains.  We are very fortunate with our location we can turn and see it all (or almost) from our terrace and even better from our roof top whereas some others up the mountain really only have the view in front of them.

And most important of all Vicksen we are entitled to our fears and opinions on the subject and make a simple enquiry    

[vicksen]

Indeed, DRBG, but that''s just the point!

Then you have to agree that everybody elseis presumably entitled to his opinions too, even if one of his opinions is that he feels he has the right to build what he wants where he wants?

And even if another of his opinions is that he doesn''t care about anybody else''s view from their villa, yet another is that he doesn''t care about all the rest of the population''s view of the town being spoiled by his new building, and his final opinion is that he doesn''t give a toss for preserving the environment?

And then where are we? m

[DRBD]

Well if you are referring to the builder I mentioned, then obviously he doesn''''t care, he is a local builder making megga bucks and has been for some years now, he has possibly got a huge house somewhere where he hasn''''t got the problem of having his views spoilt and/or may  not care too much about his own country and its environment, & unfortunately he is not alone.

Now to the original enquiry by kevywevy...............................

[kalkanfan]

Surely by buying a property in Kalkan you have helped fuel the building spree such that every open space is a potential plot and I suspect out of the price range of most of the local population.  Each and every holiday villa and apartment owner is partly responsible for spoiling somones view.

[kevywevy]

Well i must say ,i didnt build the villa i only bought it ,mine is the first of five villas built in the development,looking at the google earth pic that seems to be a few years old ,these five villas are the only ones built above the grove and you can still see the old shephereds shack that only disapeared a few years ago next to my villa
 If i find it such a great view i have to live with the fact that so will everyone else ,am i to just accept that i should not have the view i have with the villa just because other villas have lost there view ?
 I was only raising concerns and not a stand against future building
  I do have the road in front and i think that will save me ,if someone builds in front all im saying is ill be upset but im sure ill live with it  as i do looking at my neighbours houses in england.
 

[teke]

When we bought our villa a few years ago we were assured  that the hillside above us was green belt protected land and would never be built on . It now has the infamous "cell block H " on it.

[Wendy]

Hi Kev,

I reckon you are our neighbours. We are opposite the new electrical shop opposite the Petrol station. A Pinkish block of six duplex apartments above the architects office - well the pool is anyway. The view is great at the mo and I''ve taken photos for posterity! We don''t spend much time looking at it anyway.
Wendy / Stevo

[DRBD]

Kalkanfan -

Of course your are right re us property owners, but we know that in the first place, it was Kalkan we fell in love with, more so than the view, that was just a bonus, & like Wendy we don''''t spend all day looking at it, we simply enjoy our home which we have had to fight very hard for, it allows us to enjoy other parts of Turkey too by using it as a base, it allows us the freedom of when & if we get the chance to get away, we have a bolt hole.

 We are very fortunate with what we have got and we appreciate it, and have been going to Kalkan for very many years so realise what effect the building has had on the local people, we also realise that many of those local people have become very wealthy as a result of it and own properties themselves, and it has improved their lives and that of their families.

And no we don''''t feel guilty, only very sad at the loss of all the olive groves etc., and some of the greed that has led to it.

[Lorretta]

I agree with DRBD on this subject. Most of us who bought a property in Kalkan did so because we fell in love with Kalkan and not because we thought we could make a fast buck. Indeed I suspect many of us home owners bought before there was a glut of building work. For example when we bought our property there were about 2 Estate Agents to choose from, look at how many there are now. I know in a way we are part of the "problem" but surely we should not be villified for wanting to have a property in such a lovely part of the world.

[kalkanfan]

I am not criticising anyone for having bought property in Kalkan - I can fully understand why those of you did, chose to do so.  However as with any popular location be it Kalkan or anywhere else - many others have the same idea which leads to overdevelopment and to a large extent this can have significant detrimental effect on the location you first fell for.   

As for spoiling views, the point I was trying to make was (and it is I admit a generalisation) that each new build potentially spoils someones view so those of you that own property probably acquired one that had a negative impact on someone elses view - so lets not be surprised if any open space that currently affords you a nice view is subsequently built on.

Having said that I would confirm that the reason I visit Kalkan time and time again is for the people, the food and the many friends made over the years.

[DRBD]

How right you are Lorretta regarding the estate agents, when we went for our house, there wasn''''t one, it was all off plan, in our case more off than on, but goodness did they appear quickly after that, went from restaurants to estate offices, still thats life, happens most places.  Still love what we have got & thats the main thing.

[Lorretta]

Absolutely DRBD. We have to count ourselves very fortunate indeed!
Kalkanfan I also agree with your point of view that people buying in any popular location can lead to over development, sadly this has become the case in kalkan but one cannot blame the locals if they see a potential revenue stream. I just think some of us feel a bit let down by the fact that the green belt or so called protected areas are being built on. Like many others we were told that the area in front of our property (a small olive grove) was protected and could not be built on. Well sadly this has not proved to be the case.

[felicity]

I too did not ''build'' a villa - simply bought a finished empty one - reason being - absolutely fell in love with Kalkan, its people and Turkey in general.  Yes - I agree that we are to a certain extent to blame for the overdevelopment but good points have been made by Loretta and DRBD.  I know that I am VERY fortunate to be able to have a lovely villa there - I can''t wait for the day when I can live out there permanently - I count my blessings every time when I wake up and look at that most amazing view and realise how lucky I am.  I also appreciate that I am lucky to have the view that I have got - and I have said in a previous post - I know that that olive grove in front will be built upon at some stage and that we are living on borrowed time...but I am realistic enough to know that will happen.  I also agree (and appreciate) that prices have scaled so far out of most of the local people''s reaches - but that a very considerable number of them have also been made very rich - like the guy and his family who own the land around us...!! 

I really love my home there and count the days when I can go back and catch up with my turkish and english friends out there!!

PS - google earth pic is SOOOO out of date - I wonder when they will update them - now that would make a very interesting comparison!!   

[Mrs B]

We don''t own a property in Kalkan, but for the past 3 years we have stayed in a rented apartment.
If it hadn''t have been for the people who bought their apartment at Begonvil Terrace we wouldn''t have found our rented piece of heaven for a fortnight a year, and neither would the other people who rent it for the other summer months.
 
Whilst i can see the point of both sides of the debate in this thread, i''m one of those people who holiday in Kalkan who likes to stay in a modern, airconditioned apartment or villa with a pool and a view to take my breath away.
Thats what i like and thats what i get.