The head of Mykolaiv’s Housing and Communal Services Department has proposed abandoning plans to build a petrol station near «Zoria» due to its environmental impact

Dmytro Bezdolny, Director of the Mykolaiv Housing and Utilities Department. Photo: NikVesti

The Mykolaiv Housing and Utilities Department has identified inaccuracies in the environmental impact assessment report concerning the construction of a petrol station complex in Mykolaiv, in the park near «Zoria». They are proposing that the company either abandon the construction or relocate the facility to another site.

The relevant document, as part of consultations with local authorities, has been published in the Unified Register of Environmental Impact Assessments (UREIA).

The department noted that the Environmental Impact Assessment Report repeatedly states that greenery must be removed for the construction, and the developer cites Tree Survey Report №188 dated 8 May 2025 as the basis for this.

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However, the Department of Housing and Communal Services notes that this report was drawn up at the request of the company «Svit Zdorovia» specifically for the construction project. It records around 217 green spaces: 192 trees (of which only 7 are in poor condition) and over 25 tree saplings. In the event of construction, they may be removed as they are located on the site of the future development.

In fact, the trees will be felled not because they are dangerous, but because of the construction itself. Without the project, only 7 trees would need to be removed from the site.

«Therefore, the removal of greenery will be carried out due to the construction of the petrol station complex, and not simply because of the existence of the Act (under the ‘zero scenario’, 7 trees would be removed from the leased site). At the same time, the scale of the impact on the flora cannot be described as insignificant, nor can it be claimed that the works will not lead to a reduction in biodiversity,» reads the letter signed by Dmytro Bezdolnyi, Director of the Mykolaiv Department of Housing and Communal Services.

The report also lists tree species that were not recorded during the survey.

Furthermore, the Housing and Utilities Department highlighted other inaccuracies in the report. In particular, general data for the region is often used instead of a detailed description of the situation in Mykolaiv itself. In addition, the maps provided regarding bird migration and the distribution of rare plant and animal species are incomplete and do not provide a clear understanding of the situation.

It is specifically emphasised that the impact of construction on the environment is underestimated.

«The microclimate of the area is significantly influenced by green spaces; if, within a densely built-up area, the majority of these are replaced by hard artificial surfaces, and the area is landscaped with lawns instead of trees, local climatic characteristics will change significantly — temperatures will rise, humidity will decrease, and wind directions and speeds will change,» the department notes.

It is also added that the report does not fully explain how waste, water and other environmental issues will be managed, and some of the appendices are missing altogether. There are also comments regarding the size of the sanitary protection zone, which may not comply with current standards.

The department believes that the document requires further refinement and proposes either abandoning the construction or relocating the facility to another site.

«Given the negative factors listed above, it is advisable to consider alternative options: from completely abandoning the project to relocating it (an alternative not even considered by the report’s client),» the document states.

Conclusions of the Department of Housing and Communal Services regarding the environmental impact assessment

Conclusions of the Department of Housing and Communal Services regarding the environmental impact assessment

Conclusions of the Department of Housing and Communal Services regarding the environmental impact assessment

Conclusions of the Department of Housing and Communal Services regarding the environmental impact assessment

It should be recalled that on 23 February, a second public hearing was held regarding the construction of a petrol station in the park near «Zoria». Representatives of the developer faced a barrage of criticism from local residents, who vowed to defend the green space.

The EIA materials are available in the Unified Register under case number 14428 and on the EcoSystem platform.

The new UREIA report includes a new environmental study commissioned by the company Svit Zdorovia LLC. It states that there are allegedly only a few scattered oak trees on the site of the future construction.

However, a commission tasked with assessing the condition of green spaces and their replacement value — comprising specialists from the City Council’s Department of Sustainable Urban Development — had previously recorded 111 oak trees in the same area , which constituted the main body of green spaces.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Economy held a second public consultation regarding the construction of a petrol station in a green zone in the Inhulskyi district of Mykolaiv.

The previous public hearings took place online on 2 July 2025. At that time, participants criticised the EIA report and accused the developer of plagiarism.

In November 2025, readers of NikVesti drew attention to markings on the oak trees and expressed concern that the area might be cleared for the construction of a petrol station. Following this, environmentalists inspected the oak trees along Kobera Street in Mykolaiv, near the Zoria factory. According to the inspectors’ findings, all the trees are in satisfactory condition, the markings were applied haphazardly, and there are no grounds for felling them.

In turn, Andrii Yermolaiev, head of Mykolaiv’s anti-corruption department and a deputy from the Propozytsiia party, revealed details of the scheme used to obtain permission to build a petrol station on a green space on Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue.

Details of the controversial construction in the Inhulskyi district

The story surrounding the construction on Kobera Street began back in 2014. At that time, the company Svit Zdorovia received a plot of land near Zoria-Mashproekt for the construction of a sports and health complex. Some of the trees on the site were felled even then.

In March 2014, the then acting mayor, Yurii Hranaturov, publicly acknowledged during a meeting of the city executive committee that the situation raised many questions, and stated that construction would be suspended until its feasibility had been clarified. Despite this, according to local residents, work continued — mainly at night.

Employees of ‘Zoria’-‘Mashproekt’ are outraged by the new development. Photo: March 2014

In January 2015, the conflict escalated. Residents of the buildings on Kobera Street and employees of the Zoria-Mashproekt plant took to the streets in protest. They claimed that a petrol station was being built on the site of the complex, despite the fact that, according to the documents, a health centre was supposed to be there. According to them, construction continued at night, despite a ban by the city council. They complained about the felling of around 100 trees in the park area, trenches in the courtyards and the disruption of the ecological balance in the industrial area.

As early as 28 January 2015, the Mykolaiv City Council refused to extend the land lease for Svit Zdorovia LLC.

It should be recalled that a year ago, the city council initially approved the de facto renewal of the lease agreement for a 7,643-square-metre plot of land to the Lviv-based company Svit Zdorovia, formally for the construction of a sports and health centre and the maintenance of administrative buildings. However, just two months after this decision, the city council approved a change in the land’s designated use to accommodate and operate road service facilities. Both issues were tabled for consideration at the session as part of a «package» with other land-related matters and were adopted without discussion.

Local residents told NikVesti that there had been no public hearings regarding the development of this plot and that they had not heard of any. They recalled that even before the full-scale invasion, attempts had been made to build a petrol station in this area — and that the project had been successfully halted at the time.

Oak trees on the site where the petrol station is planned to be built. Photo: NikVesti

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych responded to the scandal surrounding the construction of a petrol station in a green zone and instructed his staff to prepare a report.

In November, it emerged that the Ministry of Economy was holding a second round of public consultations regarding the construction of the petrol station. In response, residents of Mykolaiv sent a collective letter to the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, in which they protested against the construction of a new petrol station complex by the company Svit Zdorovia LLC.

Later, green markings indicating felling reappeared on the oak trees along Kobera Street, near the Zoria factory. Environmentalists immediately inspected the oaks. According to the inspectors’ findings, all the trees are in satisfactory condition, the markings were applied haphazardly, and there are no grounds for felling.