There is a risk that Školj may also be developed into another Emirates or similar resort.

With these words, the leader of the citizens’ group “Movement for the City,” civic activist and former assistant secretary for property protection, Đorđe Zenović, highlighted the threats facing attractive areas in Budva following the Government’s proposal and Parliament’s adoption of the Law on Spatial Planning, which introduced urban land consolidation.

Urban land consolidation is a process aimed at enhancing the use of land by unifying scattered properties into larger, more functional units.

“In developed countries, this is an invaluable tool; however, in our context, it serves as an opportunity for misuse. Urban land consolidation has been established in many EU countries for some time. Unfortunately, the Law does not adequately detail the processes for defining a land consolidation area, along with the associated rights and obligations,” Zenović explained.

According to him, there is a significant risk that areas such as Mrčevo Polje, Buljarica, Školj (St. Nicholas Island), and other desirable locations within the Budva municipality could be declared land consolidation areas.

“This could happen without local community involvement, due to numerous loopholes in the Law that allow for potential exploitation. This provision might benefit owners of private plots lacking construction designation in the current plans, granting them construction rights through their inclusion in the land consolidation pool, effectively undermining their legal designation in the urban plan,” Zenović emphasized.

This situation, he noted, creates new building plots that previously did not exist and inflates the land’s market value.

“However, it also introduces opportunities for various abuses, allowing certain plots to be excluded from the land consolidation pool, which could pave the way for corruption. That is why I believe such poorly regulated urban land consolidation poses a significant threat, particularly to attractive areas like Školj, Mrčevo Polje, and Buljarica,” Zenović stated.

He expressed additional concern over Sveti Nikola Island (Školj), which, as he notes, is the largest island along the Montenegrin coastline.

“Spanning 47 hectares and approximately two kilometers in length, it is surrounded by both developed and natural beaches and coves. It has been a popular picnic spot for Budva residents and tourists alike due to its natural beauty. The island also serves as a nature reserve; in the 1930s, with permission from then-Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, two pairs of fallow deer were transferred to Brioni from here, leading to a population increase to 15 individuals over time. Besides deer, the island was home to mouflons, pheasants, and rabbits, which have been largely eradicated in the last few decades due to illegal construction and poaching,” Zenović recalls.

He adds, “As if this were not enough, back in 2018, the government led by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) planned in the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for the coastal area the construction of facilities comprising about 500 beds, comparable in size to the ‘Splendid’ hotel in Bečići.”

“In addition, a marina with around 50 berths for boats and yachts was proposed. However, the entire island is classified as a tourist zone with construction areas determined by a detailed plan, making it impossible to discern from available sketches and plan texts where construction will occur, on which plots, and under what planning parameters. In 2018, a petition was initiated to remove the construction content from the island’s plans, gaining support from the then-Municipality leadership and collecting over 5,000 signatures, which were submitted to the Government but went unaddressed,” notes Zenović.

Five years after that “liberation,” he emphasizes, the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for the coastal area remains in effect.

“As the Assistant Secretary for Property Protection, I previously sent urgent requests to ministers from the 42nd, 43rd, and 44th Governments to revoke this plan, but to no avail. Those were different times, before 2020. Now, the current plan suits them fine,” Zenović remarked.

He has previously contacted the ministers of spatial planning, urbanism, and state property, first Ratko Mitrović, followed by Ani Novaković Đurović, urging them to initiate proceedings to designate Sveti Nikola Island with Tunja as a nature park and prohibit any construction there.

Zenović explicitly requested that the ministers propose to the Government to impose a moratorium on construction on the island, effectively removing the plans outlined previously.

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