Ten metres will separate apartment buildings in Gufunes once construction is complete. Residents say they are being deprived of all daylight.
Residents of the new neighbourhood in Gufunes say that nearly all sunlight has been taken from them due to the density of the development. A new building is rising about ten metres from the next house. A city councillor says that elected representatives were bypassed in the approval of the building.
New development in Gufunes has grown rapidly since the first groundbreaking in 2020, with the goal of offering smaller and more affordable flats. The first residents moved into this block at Jöfursbás 11 in 2022.
“Everything was open when we moved in. But now two blocks have gone up, one each year since we arrived, and this will be the third,” says Ian Mcdonald, resident of Jöfursbás 11.
The third is Jöfursbás 9. There, a five-storey apartment building is going up with larger and more expensive flats than those around it. The distance between houses, number nine and eleven, is about ten to twelve metres.
“Sometimes the proximity is so extreme that it is barely over a metre… the space is so cramped,” says Hildur Björnsdóttir, a city councillor for Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn (the Independence Party).
Ian says he specifically asked about the plans for the area when he moved in, particularly in light of the view from the kitchen window.
“We are getting absolutely no daylight,” says Ian. A large red bicycle storage building also blocks light for more flats.
Ian says he was aware of further construction, but did not realise the scale it would reach. RÚV has spoken with other residents who say the same.
“This somewhat reminds me of the issue with the green blob. The city should, of course, impose certain planning requirements to protect the interests of residents in surrounding buildings,” says Hildur.
Hildur says it is highly irregular that elected representatives were bypassed in the handling of the case.
Nevertheless, the case passed through the city without comment.
“The process in this case was highly irregular,” says Hildur, who sits on the planning committee of Reykjavíkurborg (Reykjavík City).
“This case goes to the planning committee, which refers it for public announcement – this is the statutory consultation process that cases are normally sent through. Then we do not see the case again. When it comes back from the consultation process, it is a city official who stamps it and lets it proceed, without the involvement of elected representatives, and that is seriously irregular,” says Hildur. No comments had been submitted on the development plan, as no residents had yet moved in.
Photo: Stefán Jón
Ian says he has repeatedly sought answers from the city as to why the provisions on lighting conditions are not being followed, but has received no reply.
In a response from Reykjavíkurborg to RÚV, it is stated that essential provisions on lighting conditions in individual flats have not yet been incorporated into the building regulations.
Ian is considering moving elsewhere, as he does not want to raise his seven-month-old daughter on a construction site.
“We get very little daylight in Iceland generally, and the light we did have meant a great deal to us.”
Source: Ruv.is
