The Municipality of Kalymnos is calling for the immediate review and amendment of the decision abolishing the independent Architectural Council of the Kalymnos Regional Unit.
In an official letter dated 9 September 2026 and bearing protocol number 19293, Mayor Ioannis Mastrokoukos asks the Secretary of the Decentralised Administration of the Aegean to re-establish the Council with its headquarters on Kalymnos.
The letter was also forwarded to the Minister of Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, the South Aegean Region, the Technical Chamber of Greece, its Dodecanese Department, the Kalymnos Standing Committee and the Dodecanese Members of Parliament.
The Municipality’s intervention follows the publication of Government Gazette Υ.Ο.Δ.Δ. 1399/04.09.2026, which does not provide for an independent Architectural Council for the Kalymnos Regional Unit and transfers responsibility for the area to another council.
The Municipality expressed its strong opposition, stressing that the issue is not simply an administrative change. It concerns a statutory body with an important role in protecting the architectural heritage, landscape and built environment of the islands.
The letter points out that Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos, Lipsi, Astypalaia, Agathonisi and Arki form a distinctive island group with different needs and particularly demanding requirements in architecture, urban planning and the protection of their natural and cultural heritage.
According to the Municipality, the operation of the Council on Kalymnos has already demonstrated the practical necessity of maintaining an independent body in the area. Its abolition increases the administrative distance separating island residents from public services and may substantially increase the time and cost required to process cases involving engineers, professionals, investors and citizens.
The Municipality also highlights the difficulties of travelling between islands and accessing public services, arguing that public administration must be organised in a way that guarantees proximity, speed and efficiency.
It notes that the Government Gazette itself allows the decision to be amended, making it both legitimate and administratively feasible to reconsider the geographical distribution of the Architectural Councils.
The Municipality is specifically requesting:
- An immediate review of the decision.
- Its amendment under the provision included in the Government Gazette.
- The re-establishment of the Architectural Council of the Kalymnos Regional Unit, headquartered on Kalymnos and covering the corresponding geographical area.
- The continued service of the Regional Unit’s islands by an independent Architectural Council.
The Municipality states that Kalymnos has the scientific and technical personnel required to support the Council’s operation. It also stresses that its request is neither driven by localism nor a demand for preferential treatment.
Instead, it argues that restoring the Council would improve administrative efficiency, protect the islands’ architectural and cultural heritage and give meaningful effect to the principle of insularity.
“We request an immediate response and the amendment of the relevant decision through the re-establishment of the Architectural Council of the Kalymnos Regional Unit,” concludes the letter signed by Mayor Ioannis St. Mastrokoukos.
