Excavators Return to Podsusedsko Dolje, Residents Demand Answers
After being removed from the registry in 2024, machinery has returned to the former quarry. The City claims it is removing hazardous structures, but residents fear a change of use.
After being removed from the registry in 2024, machinery has returned to the former quarry. The City claims it is removing hazardous structures, but residents fear a change of use.
The decades-long silence in the former Podsusedsko Dolje quarry was broken in early July this year by the noise of excavators, immediately alarming residents of this peaceful part of western Zagreb. Although the quarry was officially removed from the registry of inactive exploitation fields back in 2024, the return of heavy machinery has raised numerous questions about the future of the area nestled between the slopes of Medvednica and the source of thermal water.
Marija Klabučar, a resident of Podsused, expressed the neighborhood's concerns to HRT. "What will happen here? We can't just accept that this is only cleaning up for safety reasons when we see the whole area expanding," she said. She added that residents do not accept the explanation that the area is being cleared solely due to danger to passersby, as the scope of work seems to be increasing.
The City of Zagreb responds that this involves the removal of potentially hazardous structures. They emphasized that according to the General Urban Plan, this location is designated as a protective forest, which precludes any construction. "The current spatial planning documentation legally mandates the complete removal of the site's industrial character, its permanent ecological restoration, landscape protection, and return to a natural forest state, with no possibility of urban or commercial development," states the City's official response.
The value of this area is further underscored by natural phenomena and cultural heritage. Nikolina Ilijanić, head of the Department for Mineral Resources and Marine Geology at the Croatian Geological Survey, explained the significance of the nearby springs. "Geologists have researched this area for many years; the Sutinska Vrela spring nearby has been defined as a subthermal source, with a temperature higher than the average mean temperature of groundwater," Ilijanić stated.
Resident Goranka Jelinčić warns that this is an area rich in warm water and preserved nature, which is why any intervention must be carefully planned and publicly explained. "This area sits on a lake of warm water. There are thermal springs, we have the chapel of St. Martin, we have river shrimp protected under the Natura 2000 program, and we have beautiful nature," Jelinčić emphasized to HRT.
Podsused, located at the foot of Medvednica and on the very edge of Medvednica Nature Park, is synonymous with a peaceful corner of the city for its residents. While they do not dispute the need to remove dilapidated and hazardous structures, locals are demanding full transparency regarding the duration, scope, and ultimate goal of the works. Their main demand is that the promised ecological restoration be consistently carried out and that this valuable area remain permanently protected and left to nature.
