Grindavik residents challenge property buyback plan at heated meeting

Residents of Grindavík sharply criticised a property buyback plan at a public meeting on Wednesday, mbl.is reported. The meeting was held at the Gjáin venue in the town, where Þórkatla chief executive Örn Viðar Skúlason outlined how the plan would work.

Attendees then questioned Skúlason, with some saying they wanted the meeting to continue late into the night. One speaker spent so long addressing the room that he asked another attendee to bring him a glass of water before carrying on.

Several criticised Þórkatla’s work, with one attendee saying the company had managed to mishandle a good idea. Others objected that neither a member of the company’s board nor a representative of the government had attended.

Some residents said few people in Grindavík could afford to buy their properties back. They also raised concerns that residents currently permitted to live in their homes might have to leave both their homes and the town again if they did not complete the purchases by February 1.

Attendees also said Þórkatla had not listened to residents’ concerns and suggestions while developing the plan. One speaker said the residents’ interest group Járngerður had opposed it when it was presented to them. When an attendee asked those who did not trust Þórkatla to stand, it appeared that everyone in the room did so.