The scandal over the park near "Zorya" reaches a new level: the ministry has deemed the development permissible

A conclusion of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine regarding the planned activity of LLC “Svit Zdorovya” has been published in the Unified EIA Register (environmental impact assessment). The project concerns the new construction of a fuel station complex with AGZP and a service shop for drivers and passengers in the green zone near the “Zorya”-“Mashproekt” plant in Mykolaiv. According to the official announcement of the public consultation, the facility is planned as a medium-capacity filling station with 250 refuellings per day with petroleum products and 100 refuellings per day with liquefied gas.

According to the conclusion, after taking into account the materials from the public consultation the authorized body recognized the implementation of this planned activity as permissible. The conclusion itself states that the impact on soils, atmospheric air, water and geological environments, flora and fauna, climate, as well as the social and technogenic environment is acceptable provided that the established environmental requirements are met. The same is stated in publications that refer to the published document.

The most acute issue in this story is the trees. According to the EIA report materials, 192 trees are planned to be felled for development, and the restoration cost of the green plantings amounts to UAH 4,180,000. At the same time, the documents state that there is currently no decision by the city council executive body to remove these plantings, which means the developer does not yet have the right to cut them down. The materials also state separately that the area near the filling station is intended to be sown with lawn grass afterwards.

The project itself is divided into two stages. The second stage provides for the construction of a shop with a service point that functions similarly to a car wash. The total duration of preparatory and construction works, according to the published data, is expected to be 7 months.

The controversy over this development did not appear yesterday. The story goes back to 2014, when the company received a plot near “Zorya”-“Mashproekt” for a sports and wellness complex. Already in January 2015 local residents and plant workers protested, claiming that under the guise of a sports facility a gas station was actually being advanced, and on 28 January 2015 the city council refused to extend the lease. The project later returned: in 2024 the lease on the plot was renewed, and its designated purpose was later changed to road service facilities. The first online hearings on the EIA were held on 2 July 2025, after which the developer prepared a new report, and repeat hearings took place on 23 February 2026.

Attention is also drawn to who signed the conclusion: the document was signed by the director of the Department of Environmental Assessment Marina Shymkus and Deputy Minister Vitalii Kindrativ, who previously served as deputy head of the Mykolaiv OVA.

Formally this decision does not yet equal a completed construction procedure, but in practice it gives the developer a strong argument to further advance the project. The main unresolved point of tension now is precisely the issue of the green plantings and whether the city authorities will dare to separately approve their removal. This conclusion follows from the published EIA conclusion and the absence of a city decision to fell the trees.

Reminder, earlier we wrote:

• They wanted to destroy a green zone for a gas station and a shop – environmentalists intervened
• 182 oaks under the axe: Mykolaiv residents demand Senkevych’s resignation over the “green slaughter” and prepare an aspen stake
• The mayor waved his hands, the architect blinked: nobody “knew” about the destruction of 187 oaks in Mykolaiv
• Reassuring or disclaiming? The mayor of Mykolaiv said the city is interested in business development
• At Bohoyavlensky — a giant clear-cut: 182 trees to be felled for the OKKO gas station, ATB and an auto shop