Neighbors strike back at queen: "Stunning"
Queen Silvia has indicated that prejudice against dementia was behind the neighbors stopping the heart project "SilviaBo".
An astonishing statement, one of the neighbors who ran the process answers:
- The municipality has folded because this is the queen of the country.
To mark Alzheimer's Day, Queen Silvia participated in a podcast interview with the Alzheimer's Life Foundation, which was published this weekend.
One of the subjects was SilviaBo, the Queen's heart project on Drottningholm. Six apartments were built for couples, where at least one of the people suffered from dementia. But after the building permit was appealed and revoked, the apartments are empty, three years after they were inaugurated.
Journalist Henrik Frenkel asked in the podcast interview if the queen believes that prejudice against dementia can be behind the conflict with the neighbors.
- I have often thought about it. I dare not ask because I'm afraid it's so. And I think it's very painful, I think it's really cruel, the queen replied, among other things.
Aftonbladet has spoken to one of those who drove the process towards the SilviaBo project. The neighbor, who has also been in contact with the others involved, reacts strongly to the queen's insinuation.
- It is a statement that is astonishing. There has never been a question and discussion about dementia care. What we have done as residents of Drottningholmsmalmen is to protect the place, with its historical values, says the neighbor who wants to remain anonymous.
Aftonbladet wrote about the things around SilviaBo already in 2018. The building committee's chairman Lennart Nilsson resigned in frustration that he considered that the municipal council itself had come under pressure to grant a building permit for the queen's project.
This is despite the fact that the design of the apartments was in conflict with the new detailed plan that had been worked on for over ten years, which would preserve the area's unique character from the 18th century.
- This is part of the world heritage Drottningholm Palace and its surroundings. It was Gustav III who created a form of housing for craftsmen and others who could contribute to the surroundings. Roads and the garden impression have been preserved with hedges and other things, to preserve the environment that has existed here since Gustav III's time, says the neighbor.
What is it about the newly built apartments that is so offensive, do you think?
- That there were too many apartments in the buildings, they were too large, and so they had a clear impression of being catalog houses that are intended to be produced in mass form. This is exactly what does not fit on Drottningholmsmalmen.
The houses began to be built before the building permit gained legal force, the neighbor says.
- If they had waited, they would have been able to remodel the buildings so that they fit in, and would not have ended up in this situation. It is the client's fault that is behind the problems. And that the municipality has not been clear and strong enough, but in some way emphasized that it is the queen of the country.
Silviahemmet, where dementia care is provided, is an excellent institution, says the neighbor. The construction dispute is about something completely different than the disease itself.
- This again testifies that the queen unfortunately did not have the right adviser around her. Someone has said this and in her disappointment she answers a question like this, says the neighbor.
The neighbors thus claim that prejudices against dementia have had nothing to do with the tangle. Aftonbladet has asked Margareta Thorgren if Queen Silvia has any comment on this.
- I was present at the interview. It is Henrik Frenkel (the interviewer) who asks the question. The queen answers that "I have not dared to ask the question ..." So it is not something that the queen claims. Then the conversation turns to the fact that unfortunately there can generally be resistance, which is sad, Margareta Thorgren answers in a text message.
The Silviahemmet Foundation has made a new building permit application so that the vision of dementia housing can become a reality.
- While the building permit issue is being tried in various instances, nothing happens to the houses. No one can move into the houses as long as the process is ongoing, says operational manager Wilhelmina Hoffman.
The building permit for the converted homes is currently being processed in the Land and Environmental Court. In the new proposal, the size and facades of the homes have been adapted to "harmonize with the rest of the environment", says the press manager at Ekerö municipality.
Granne om drottningens uttalande_ Häpnadsväckande _ Aftonbladet
Silvia i bråk med grannarna på Drottningholm _ Svensk Dam