Tórshavn environment department opposes planned Sundsvegur development
Sunday 9th August 2026 on 18:15 in
Faroe Islands
The environment department of Tórshavn Municipality has advised against changing the current zoning plan for a plot on Sundsvegur in Tórshavn, KVF reports.
The consultation deadline has passed for the proposed change covering cadastral number 1458a. Nine responses were submitted, including an internal comment from the municipality’s environment department, which directly opposes the planned development.
The department says the area has natural, landscape and recreational value and lies between a protected forest area and open land. It also notes that the area is under considerable development pressure.
The department recommends keeping the existing zoning plan and examining whether the municipality could buy the plot at market value to preserve it as a green and recreational area.
Proposal could allow 80 to 85 homes
The current zoning plan allows for 18 detached houses. The new proposal would permit significantly denser construction, including apartment buildings with multiple housing units.
According to the environment department’s calculations, the proposed development intensity could provide about 6,600 square metres of building rights. That could result in approximately 80 to 85 housing units, depending on their size and layout, as well as a need for about 84 parking spaces.
The calculations indicate that around 1,680 square metres, equivalent to 15 percent of the total area, could be taken up. The department warns that this could affect shared spaces, open areas and green spaces.
Calls for an overall plan
The environment department also says greater consideration should be given to the protected forest area, the open land, natural water conditions and connected green spaces. It says unnecessary levelling, filling or alteration of the terrain should be avoided.
Its conclusion is that the current zoning plan should remain unchanged. If the new proposal goes ahead, the department recommends that the building density, parking, green spaces and the development’s overall impact on the surrounding environment be described and regulated in considerably greater detail.