More than six decades after Britain’s 144-year control of Cyprus ended, one of the former coloniser’s enduring legacies on the Mediterranean island is set to go following a “ground-breaking” change in land law.
In a milestone agreement between the UK and Cyprus, restrictions on residential developments on British military bases on the island will be removed for Cypriots, the Republic’s President Nicos Anastasiades said on Monday.
The move will create “multiple benefits”, the president said.
After Cyprus gained independence in 1960, the UK retained control of two Sovereign Base Areas ― in Akrotiri and Dhekelia ― covering three per cent of the island’s area, or 254 square kilometres.
About 12,000 Cypriots live in those areas — more than the number of British military personnel and their families — but non-military development on the bases has been generally prohibited.
The new accord, agreed in 2014 under then British prime minister David Cameron, will come into effect on Monday, May 16, and allow owners to submit planning applications to develop properties in line with rules elsewhere on the island.
“This is a truly historic agreement,” the Cypriot president told officials gathered at Nicosia’s presidential palace on Monday.
“[It] is expected to not only have important development prospects for those who reside, or who have properties, on the bases, but for the economy and society more generally at an especially difficult time following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Britain’s high commissioner to Cyprus, Stephen Lillie, called the accord “a memorable moment” in ties between the two nations.
“Our agreement means that, as far as possible, residents in the bases will now enjoy the same rights as Cypriots living in the republic to sell and develop their land and property and all the benefits that brings,” Mr Lillie said.
“I take pride in the fact that we have worked together to deliver a change that will have a real and positive impact on people’s lives.”
The new accord will allow residential, commercial and other developments on the bases in a move that President Anastasiades said will upend the “distortions and imbalances" that left locals feeling unjustly treated on an island already grappling with tense divisions.
About 6,150 hectares will now be open to development across the two bases in a move the president said will boost the economy.
British Forces Cyprus said that, for the first time, third-country nationals in addition to Cypriots will be able to own property, live, and run a business in the base areas ― subject to environmental, security and zoning considerations.
Britain’s Cypriot bases are important strategic assets with the RAF Akrotiri, situated near the city of Limassol, used as a forward mounting base for several operations in the region.
The war in Ukraine has heightened their importance to the UK.
In a visit from Gen Sir Mark Carleton-Smith to Cyprus, the first British chief of general staff to do so in ten years, he highlighted the small island’s significance to the British military.
“The UK is fortunate to enjoy a close bilateral partnership with the Republic of Cyprus and we retain sovereign bases here and have for many decades,” he said.
“They offer a military platform for us to base troops in the eastern Mediterranean but also to use it as a springboard to shorten our response times across the region. It’s a region with a degree of strategic volatility and it’s to our military advantage to acclimatise, train and prepare troops here in Cyprus.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded following a Greek-sponsored coup. A Greek-Cypriot majority population live in approximately two-thirds of the southern part of the island in an internationally recognised Republic. Meanwhile the breakaway Turkish-Cypriot administered northern part of the island is only officially recognised by Ankara.
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
A meeting of young minds
The 3,494 entries for the 2019 Sharjah Children Biennial come from:
435 – UAE
2,000 – China
808 – United Kingdom
165 – Argentina
38 – Lebanon
16 – Saudi Arabia
16 – Bangladesh
6 – Ireland
3 – Egypt
3 – France
2 – Sudan
1 – Kuwait
1 – Australia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Company%20profile
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Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
