Campers face eviction from Governor’s Beach in Limassol

Some 330 families living in caravans at the Governor’s Beach campsite in Limassol have been told to leave, MPs on the House refugee committee heard on Tuesday, with around 102 of them using the caravans as permanent homes. Notices have been posted on doors by the Turkish Cypriot Properties Management Service, which says the site stands on Turkish Cypriot land, as the contract of the operator who ran it has expired. Committee chairman Nikos Kettiros said MPs learned of the issue only after the notices appeared, and asked the service to brief the committee on the facts and say whether it could ensure residents would not be left unhoused. Kettiros said the state had failed for years to take the necessary measures, leading to the present situation. “The committee does not support illegality but wants a substantive solution as some families have nowhere else to live,” he said. Residents presently pay rent of between €1,100 and €1,500 a year, with many having been at the site for more than 30 years and converted their caravans into permanent residences. Some children attend school in nearby Pentakomo, which residents say shows they have “planted roots” in the area. Disy MP Giorgos Lysandrides, citing information from the deputy tourism ministry, said some people were renting out caravans through Airbnb. Others, unaware that moves to clear the site had begun, had bought caravans only recently and were now left in limbo. Foreign investor to build hotel Direct Democracy MP Demetris Souglis said the land was sold after its Turkish Cypriot owner died, being passed to the interim manager, who then sold it to a foreign investor intending to build a hotel. He said the new development would sit close to sensitive services in the area. The committee heard that the site was assigned to the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) some 30 years ago. When permanent structures began to appear alongside the caravans, the organisation said it could no longer manage it. Management instead passed to Pentakomo community council, which appointed a manager who rented out the plots. Adjacent to the site, a separate residential project called The Rocks is under review by the authorities for a 34,714 square metre coastal plot. Plans submitted for approval include a 126-room hotel, 26 tourist villas and 73 apartments, with operation possible by 2029.