Ruukinranta landowners and city planners discussed plans for the area
The event was held at the Otaniemen lukio upper secondary school on 5 November 2024. Approximately 90 landowners attended the event. Ruukinranta is an area dominated by single-family houses, and local landowners usually live on their farms.
The participants had sent questions and feedback in advance, and these were addressed at the beginning of the event. After this, experts from the City Planning Department told the audience about the state of the plans, traffic planning and nature, landscape and cultural values. Participants learned how the process of both plans is progressing and how more information about them will be communicated.
Then, the landowners and experts engaged in lively discussions at various themed points for about an hour.
State of plans
Two detailed plans are actively being prepared for the area: The plan for the waterfront part of the detached house area of Ruukinranta (Ruukinranta–Tarvaspää 250100) and the plan for the inland part (Ruukinrannanmäki 250300).
The detailed plan Ruukinranta-Tarvaspää has been approved by the City Planning Committee. The landowners are currently negotiating with the city’s Real Estate Department. The plan will not be approved by the City Board and the City Council until the negotiations have been completed.
A new plan proposal will be drawn up for the Ruukinrannanmäki plan, which will take better account of aspects such as nature values based on the ELY Centre’s statement. At the same time, traffic arrangements in the area will be redesigned. The general municipal infrastructure plan will be updated. The new proposal will be made available for public review in autumn 2025 at the earliest. At the same time, a public notice about it will be published and landowners will be informed by letter.
The Tarvaspää museum area has been separated from Ruukinranta–Tarvaspää into its own plan area. Its schedule is currently unconfirmed.
Construction, traffic and nature sparked discussion
The landowners of the area have different opinions on how the area should be developed and, on the other hand, how its current character should be preserved. Some want more efficient construction and permitted building volume, while others would like to keep the situation as it is. However, they all would like the planning to proceed so that the situation would become clearer.
Construction was discussed by Sampo Sikiö, Area Architect for the Tapiola major region, and Architect Mikko Malmström, who is responsible for the planning of Ruukinranta. At their tables, there was lively discussion about things such as how the efficiency and permitted building volume of different plots are determined.
The landowners want everyone to be treated equally. The city’s experts pointed about that factors such as differences in plots’ locations, steepness, soil and nature values affect what can be planned for each plot.
Many people were interested in traffic arrangements. The landowners are concerned that the feeder street planned to run through the area will increase through traffic and noise and have a negative impact on safety. According to Planning Manager Tarja Pennanen, there are many means available to calm the traffic. The area has a route for long-distance and high-speed cycling which is also a cause for concern. Residents brought up locations that are challenging in terms of traffic, and also proposed solutions to them.
The area has important nature and landscape values and cultural history. These were discussed with Landscape Architect Ina Westerlund. Due to the long planning process, there has been a need to update the nature reports concerning the area. With regard to the Ruukinrannanmäki detailed plan, we are now investigating how the nature values found in the updated nature report can be taken into account better in the plan. For the Ruukinranta–Tarvaspää plan area, the updating of the nature report is yet to be carried out. However, there have already been new flying squirrel sightings in the area. The discussions also touched on the topic of stormwater, the better management of which can also be influenced by the plan.
Constructive discussions
Despite the difficult topic, the discussion between the City Planning Department and the landowners was constructive in nature. The landowners also got to hear each other’s views. Even though the number of participants was large and the themed points were busy, the participants listened patiently and took each other into consideration when engaging in the discussion.
Participants praised the fact that the City Planning Department’s experts met landowners face-to-face and took their concerns and questions seriously.
We thank everyone who attended the event!
Further information
More information on the plans and the slideshow used at he event can be found on the plans’ web pages:
The negotiations for the land use agreement are held with the Real Estate Department.
Contact:
Ilkka Elfvengren
ilkka.elfvengren@espoo.fi
+358 40 6394856