Kittilä grants Icecube Levi permission to start off-road track despite pending permits

Kittilä municipality has granted Icecube Levi Oy the right to begin off-road track operations, even though the company’s environmental and siting permits are not yet legally binding, Yle reports.

The decision forces a neighboring nature tourism business, Halipuu, to halt its silence-based forest programs once construction begins. Owner Riitta Raekallio-Wunderink said the noise from the track will make it impossible to host guests seeking quiet in the nearby Möykkä forest.

Halipuu has operated in the family-owned forest for over a decade. The adjacent plot is owned by the state forest agency Metsähallitus, which leases the land to Icecube Levi.

Raekallio-Wunderink criticized the municipality for approving the start-up permission while both the siting and environmental permits remain under appeal. The siting permit is being contested in the Northern Finland Administrative Court, and the environmental permit is also under legal challenge.

Kittilä’s environmental inspector, Liisa Arpiainen, said the siting permit covers construction under building regulations and would not affect the environmental permit. She confirmed that Icecube Levi applied for the right to begin operations and that no legal obstacles were found.

To mitigate potential damage, the municipality required a €10,000 security deposit. Arpiainen stated this sum is deemed sufficient to restore the terrain—built from snow and water—for one to three years of motor sports use if needed. The deposit does not cover tree planting, forest regeneration, or construction-related costs under building laws.

Pasi Koppinen, a board member of Icecube Levi, declined to specify a construction timeline, saying it depends on the progress and legal finalization of the permit processes.

Raekallio-Wunderink expressed frustration with the municipality’s handling of the case, stating that the project has advanced solely from Icecube Levi’s perspective. She called the €10,000 deposit insignificant for the applicant and insufficient to cover irreversible groundwork or her business losses.