The Veresy village council unanimously voted for the initiative to join Zhytomyr. Thus, if deputies of the Zhytomyr City Council support the proposal of the Veresy hromada, Zhytomyr will become the first oblast centre in Ukraine to establish an AH.

“Both hromadas will win from such amalgamation. For Veresy it means getting new roads, school repairs, cheaper municipal transport and the possibility to use Zahytomyr infrastructure. Veresy residents will also receive Zhytomyr resident cards with all its municipal services as a bonus,” said Serhiy Sukhomlyn, Zhytomyr city mayor.

A month ago Veresy held public hearings, where Vasyl Nevmerzhytskyi, Director of the Zhytomyr Local Government Development Centre, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and MinRegion, spoke about possible options for amalgamation. Then the majority of the hromada residents supported the initiative of joining the oblast centre.

“Veresy, Ivanivka, Levkiv are hromadas located around Zhytomyr and are significantly related economically and socially. These hromadas have a choice and must make it themselves. It is important to calculate the economic benefits that give all the options and choose the most advantageous one,” said Vasyl Nevmerzhytskyi, director of the Zhytomyr LGDC.

Then the decision on Veresy’s accession is to be taken by the Zhytomyr City Council.