Lauri Liukkonen and Liisa Leinonen
Frustration and helplessness. Those were Kuopio resident Anna Slita’s first reactions when she learned what was included in the new partial master plan for Kelloniemi.
Slita and her husband, Prakirth Govardhanam, had already launched a residents’ initiative opposing plans to build a new supermarket and car park on the Tuhtopuisto green space. She then realised that the plans for Kelloniemi went much further.
Two weeks ago, Kuopio’s Urban Structure Board approved the partial master plan. Under the plan, the new S-market would be built at the proposed location, while Kelloniemi’s future local centre would extend east of Kellolahdentie.
Around a quarter of the planned centre would occupy woodland identified as flying squirrel habitat.
“We were disappointed, but not surprised. The roughly 2,000 people who may move into the area are still only part of a plan. The flying squirrels, however, already live here. This is their habitat,” Govardhanam says.
He believes that saving a few individual trees will not be enough if construction breaks up the squirrels’ habitat.
S-market plans prompted the couple to take action
Even if the partial master plan is eventually approved as it stands, Slita and Govardhanam point out that there will still be opportunities to influence what is built during the detailed planning stage.
They have already done so in the case of Tuhtopuisto. As well as launching a residents’ initiative, the couple have submitted written comments on the city’s draft plan for the area.
Slita and Govardhanam believe new development should primarily be directed to land that has already been built on, rather than spreading into natural green spaces.
The couple became involved in the debate over Kelloniemi’s future after Savon Sanomat reported in the spring that the regional cooperative PeeÄssä planned to build a new S-market and car park on the Tuhtopuisto green space. The same article also reported that the residential buildings at Ankkuritie 4 were due to be demolished.
“We told our friends about the article, and they gave us a great deal of advice on what we could do. They helped us write objections, launch the residents’ initiative and translate the documents,” Govardhanam says.
Slita says that getting involved in local issues has been hectic but rewarding.
“It feels meaningful. Above all, I feel that it is safe to organise this kind of action here. It has given me a new sense of purpose. For the past few months, my life has mostly revolved around home and work, but now I have something to fight for.”
City says flying squirrels have been considered in the plan
Annika Korhonen, Head of Detailed Planning at the City of Kuopio, says the partial master plan takes into account the routes flying squirrels need between green spaces. The details will be worked out when more specific plans are drawn up.
“Our starting point is to preserve and make use of as many of the existing trees as possible, as it takes time for new trees to grow,” Korhonen says.
“Keeping existing trees is important for both flying squirrels and people. It also helps the city prepare for and adapt to climate change. At the same time, a central location such as this also needs compact urban development.”
Korhonen does not say how many of the existing trees will need to remain to provide adequate routes for flying squirrels. She points out, however, that the law requires planners to safeguard the species’ favourable conservation status.
Planning engineer Juho Palviainen previously told Savon Sanomat that the area’s green corridors would “probably wind their way between the buildings from point A to point B”.
Korhonen says people and flying squirrels can live side by side.
“The flying squirrels’ need to move between green spaces is one of the key requirements for further planning. Leaving a few individual trees along the route will not be enough. Their breeding and resting sites must be protected, together with sufficient surrounding tree cover.”
“The green corridor can wind through the area and be wider in some places and narrower in others. It could also become an attractive part of the neighbourhood—for example, a chain of parks that provides space for recreation while also carrying stormwater,” Korhonen says.
Biologist Jaakko Junikka was also interviewed for this article.
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Background: Major changes planned for Kelloniemi
Residents launch opposition to the planned location of Kelloniemi's new S-market