A recreational area with ponds, a mini-stadium, and a rope park will appear in Braslav
A recreational area with infrastructure facilities for citizens' leisure will appear in Braslav, as reported to a BELTA correspondent by the Deputy Chairman for Construction, Architecture, and Housing and Communal Services of the Braslav District Executive Committee, Andrey Davydenko.
Improving the technical capabilities of green zones for recreational purposes has been chosen as one of the four leading directions of the Local Environmental Action Plan under the STREAM program, which was adopted at a meeting of the District Executive Committee and the Council of Deputies back in November 2014. "For a whole year, we studied public opinion, conducted surveys, based on the results of which we selected the main areas of action, and also submitted an application to the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe and by the end of the year received funding for our project 'Planning the Development and Maintenance of Green Territories in the City of Braslav' through it. All 50.6 thousand euros allocated by European sponsors will go towards creating the design and estimate documentation for the future recreational area," explained Andrey Davydenko.
The currently vacant territory of almost 20 hectares in the district center will be transformed into a cultural and park complex with landscape compositions, a system of artificial ponds and channels, and a reservoir that will become an open-air ice rink in winter. Children's playgrounds, a mini-stadium, a rope park, and public toilets will be built. "A small Disneyland with all the accompanying infrastructure will grow between the industrial zone and the residential area. Recently, a meeting was held at the district executive committee with designers and project artists who made their proposals regarding the external appearance of the recreational area. When the design and estimate documentation is developed (approximately in March 2015), we will present the design project and the plan for upcoming events for public discussion," added Andrey Davydenko.
The creation of such a zone will be a real breakthrough for Braslav, which has not yet had a full-fledged park with opportunities for recreation and entertainment. All possible forces and means will be involved in the implementation of the project: contributions from the local housing and communal services, other enterprises and organizations, and the population (in the form of volunteer workdays) are expected, as well as participation in other projects funded by European donors.
Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) have been developed in Belarus since September 2013 thanks to the STREAM program - "Strengthening Local Environmental Planning and Environmental Civil Society in the Republic of Belarus and Moldova." It is implemented by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Based on competitive applications, 10 districts across the country have been included in the STREAM program component for improving environmental planning, including Braslavsky, Gluboksky, Polotsky, and Chashniksky in the Vitebsk region. The final phase involves the development and implementation of an investment environmental project in each district. Administrative and technical support and management of the LEAP component in Belarus are entrusted to the Local Foundation for the Promotion of International Dialogue and Cooperation "Interakcia".
Ekaterina Knyazeva