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Linköping approves controversial industrial zone plan

Key Points
  • Linköping municipal council approved a plan for a 240-hectare industrial zone on farmland.
  • The plan is supported by the ruling coalition but opposed by environmental groups and opposition parties.
  • Opponents argue it destroys valuable farmland and threatens natural and cultural values.

The municipal council in Linköping approved the detailed plan for the Distorp area. The plan involves building an industrial zone on 240 hectares of high-quality farmland north of Linköping, with most of the area to be converted into business land for industries and warehouses. The political leadership in Linköping, consisting of the Social Democrats and the Moderates, supports the proposal with backing from the Christian Democrats and Linköpingslistan.

The decision was met with mixed reactions. Maria Moraes, group leader for the Green Party in Linköping, criticized the plan as problematic and doomed to fail, calling it a prestige project. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and opposition parties including the Centre Party, Left Party, Sweden Democrats, and Green Party have demanded the plans be stopped.

The plan is problematic and doomed to fail, calling it a prestige project.

Maria Moraes, Group leader for the Green Party in Linköping

Opponents argue the industrial zone would destroy valuable farmland needed for self-sufficiency and threaten natural and cultural values in the area. The municipality justifies the plan with the area's strategic location and potential for economic growth, citing Linköping as a growing municipality in need of more business land.

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