The Municipal Council refrained from issuing licenses to demolish government buildings older than 40 years without prior consultation with the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. The Chairman of the Technical Committee in the Municipal Council, Dr. Hassan Kamal, stressed on Monday session all efforts to protect historical and heritage monuments, as well as heritage buildings of the NCCAL from modification and damage due to demolition and construction works in the vicinity.
Kamal stated that the municipality has given a nod to the technical committee’s recommendation to address the municipality to the NCCAL before issuing demolition licenses for government buildings constructed for over 40 years. He also added setting a specific time period for the National Council to respond to related correspondence, and referred to recommendations for the municipality to first address the Council and not to issue new building permits for adjacent buildings and those surrounding historical and heritage buildings registered with the NCCAL.
Moreover, he stated that the Council concurred to coordinate with the Municipal Council, the municipality and the NCCAL in immediately amending the Antiquities Law of 1960. The Director-General of Kuwait Municipality, Ahmed Al-Manfouhi, said in the session that historic buildings have been enacted by law, and the terminology stipulates specific conditions and data, since the previous recommendation for buildings considered historical was 30 years old, it will thus be problematic for citizens. He also explained that the majority of the private residential buildings situated in old districts were built 30 years ago, so the previous recommendation may prevent citizens from demolishing their homes, indicating that the historical building is linked to two parts: the time span and the historical significance of the building.
The official also highlighted the significance of the NCCAL and the Municipal Council’s meeting in discussing the law of modernizing heritage areas through binding decisions that deliberate the protection of heritage monuments and historical buildings.
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