Agostino underlines that she hadn't waited for official permission and that it was her fault, saying she simply hadn't been patient enough. She had requested an authorisation in January 2020, but still had not heard anything five months later apart from a positive oral reply from the Ministry of Environment who had told her she had a 'favourable opinion'.
The building is scheduled to be complete by January 2022, but an unexpected sum will be added to the costs due to compensation for the biotope.
This is a normal procedure, according to Marc Schmit of the Nature and Forestry Administration. The damage is calculated in "eco points", which are used to calculate the price to be paid.
In some cases, hundreds of thousands of euros can be charged to the people concerned, and in the case of the crèche in Hovelange, an amount of 24,000 euros was confirmed and contested by the owner. The reason behind this is that the invoice takes into account plants that had already been removed by the municipality well before the start of the work, according to Agostino.
Agostino is now awaiting an appointment with the Ministry of the Environment. The crèche is almost completed. After two unanswered letters, the ombudsman was also asked to intervene.
An investigation has also been launched by the Public Prosecutor's Office against Barbara Agostino for destruction of the biotope.
