As revealed by Calcalist, the promoters of the project have obtained a building permit for a 17,000 m² IKEA store. However, the construction plan exceeds this area by about 8,500 m².
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The fifth branch of the Swedish furniture chain IKEA will not open as planned.
Indeed, the discovery of irregularities during construction has suspended the operation. During the establishment of the store in the Eshtaol industrial zone near Beit Shemesh, according to Calcalist. Eshtaul Park and Industrial Park Company designed this store project. The latter represents a private subsidiary of MEGA OR, controlled by Tzachi Nahmias.
As revealed by Calcalist, the project developers received a building permit for a store in the area of 17,000 square meters. However, during the audit conducted just two weeks ago, an inconsistency was observed. The Ministry of Finance and Planning Enforcement found that 8,500 square meters were beyond the area authorized by the building permit. The company, for its part, claimed that the construction complied with the existing building rights on the land.
The new IKEA branch near Beit Shemesh on hold!
The developers submitted a plan to approve the addition of land, which also received approval from the local planning committee in Mate Yehuda. But in Jerusalem, the district committee opposes the addition. Furthermore, it appealed to the district appeals committee, stating that the local committee approved the plan in violation of the law.
The addition of land requires the approval of the district committee. It opposes the addition, partly due to the planning policy aimed at redirecting most urban development. Moreover, to strengthen Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, and to reduce the encroachment on the city’s margins.
In a provisional decision by the District Appeals Committee, chaired by Benjamin Zalmanovich, the approval of the plan remains suspended. Ultimately, they are awaiting a decision on the fate of the additional lands.
Recently, the Jerusalem district planner, Shalai Talmei Abay, submitted a plea agreement to the appeals committee. He states that after the filing of the appeal, the company continued construction, contrary to the permit. After the filing of the appeal, the company had carried out illegal construction work.
“All proposed construction areas in the 8,500 m² plan are already built in the area, and the plan is designed to legalize the construction of the illegally built areas. These are significant construction violations that require serious study, and the only reasonable decision would be to reject the proposed plan.”
IKEA stated: “As we know, the property belongs to the Mega Or company. When we receive a notification from them that all relevant approvals have been obtained, we will open the fifth IKEA store to the public in the region.”
