Jõelähtme council supports heritage protection of Linnamäe reservoir
On Thursday, Jõelähtme Municipal Council supported the proposal of the Heritage Board to extend the heritage protection zone, which is currently restricted to the Linnamäe dam, to a large part of the reservoir.
By extending the protection zone around the Linnamäe Hydroelectric Power Plant in Harju County, which is part of Estonia's construction history and cultural heritage, the reservoir will be preserved.
The National Heritage Board expressed the view that the Linnamäe reservoir is necessary for the protection of the dam, the ancient fortress and the settlement site.
The council explained the dismantling of the power plant which had been in continuous operation since 2002 came to the fore when the Jägala River was recognized as a salmon river in 2004 by fish protection authorities without the consent of the municipality and was designated a protected environmental area in 2007.
The council said the living environment and heritage would be destroyed when implementing the salmon river project.
Mayor of the rural municipality Andrus Umboja said: "In addition to heritage conservation, social economy, climate neutrality and energy security aspects, the municipality also wants to protect the lake because it is home to a rare bat species. The bat was declared the animal of the year 2020, and the elimination of the summer colony's feeding place on the Linnamäe dam would be a particularly irresponsible behavior."
In October 2019, the Government decided the interests of fish conservationists did not outweigh any other interests, in particular, the views the locals, but also the production of renewable energy and the preservation of cultural monuments.
The dam of the Linnamäe Hydroelectric Power Station was declared a cultural monument in December 2016 and the current protection zone extends a few meters into the reservoir.
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Editor: Helen Wright