Zbraslav quarry expansion in Prague: residents collect 600 signatures

A plan to expand a stone quarry in Prague’s Zbraslav district has met opposition from residents and the local council. In a week, 600 people signed a petition against the project.

What the quarry owner says

The applicant explains the expansion by saying that building-stone reserves in the existing quarry are shrinking, while there is not enough material for roads and the high-speed railway. According to the company, moving extraction to the neighbouring Jiloviště site would secure the supply of stone for several decades. Kámen Zbraslav said it has received no opinion from the district on the amendment to the Principles of Territorial Development, which the Prague City Assembly approved in September. It expects Zbraslav to voice its views at later stages and acknowledges the district’s right to defend residents’ interests: an environmental assessment of the concept (SEA), an assessment of the project itself (EIA) and an extraction permit still lie ahead, but, the company stressed, these procedures have not yet begun.

The competent authorities have concluded that the project does not have a significant impact on nature and the environment. The Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic stated that extraction will not affect protected areas, the nearest of which, the Lochkovský profil, lies about 5.5 kilometres away. However, the finding concerns only protected areas and does not replace other assessments.

Why residents and the council object

The district council has sent a negative opinion to the city hall. Mayor Kateřina Pavlíková (Independent Zbraslav) told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) that people have long suffered the consequences of quarrying and that the expansion must be assessed together with the existing traffic and other burdens. Concerns include more dust, worse air quality and damage to the landscape. “Our aim is not to prejudge the experts’ conclusions, but to make sure that all possible consequences are assessed and residents’ interests are taken into account,” she said.

Residents believe the expansion will bring more heavy trucks, dust, noise and vibrations that threaten health and quality of life. According to petition committee member Eva Popelková, the district’s current leadership took the issue seriously only after residents pressed it at the September assembly meeting, and the council is not currently cooperating with the people.

The quarry owner has already tried to mitigate the effects, for example by sprinkling its processing lines with water to prevent dust. But because of the proximity of residential housing, the quarry has long remained a subject of disputes and protests.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ekolist.cz