My email jiminysimpson@gmail.com

My email jiminysimpson@gmail.com

Thursday, April 7, 2016

PGOU UPDATE

PGOU

This is my update on the progress of our PGOU (Plan General Orden Urbanizacion) 

As many of you know we have had a Plan since about 2005. The original one was immediately knocked back. Since that time the Town Hall has made attempt after attempt to get it approved. The major stumbling block being that the Junta (the regional authorities) continually changed the rules and requirements for approval of such plans so much so that in the past 10 years almost no Town Halls in all of Andalucia have had a PGOU approved. 

Zurgena Town Hall has constantly worked to achieve an approved plan and, by last year ,we were happy that the plan we presented satisfied all the changed rules and complied with all requirements and we had hoped that it would be passed. Unfortunately they then asked for a further inform to cover doubts about 18 water issues within the plan. These were around sewerage and fresh water supply. We were the first to compile such a report to address all these issues and represented it in March of this year. We expected it to progress to the commission and then be approved BUT we were then made aware of a ruling against Malaga´s PGOU which could impact on ours (and every other PGOU in Spain) and could potentially delay it for years. This was because we were (only in March) made aware of the fact that this ruling (re Malaga) could impact all Town Halls Plans. It hinged on a E.U. directive from 2004 which stipulated that all PGOUs must have attached to them an environmental impact study. The Junta should have made all Town Halls aware of this years ago. 

We therefore decided to retrieve the administrative part of our submitted plan and amend it to include such a report. This way the Junta can continue to examine the plan whilst we did the work. Our Mayor, Secretary, technical architect all worked tirelessly over easter to complete this work. Now that they have done this they have sent it for the Junta to study it and let us know confirm that it satisfies the directive before we put it before Pleno and then submit formally for the process to proceed. The 15 days for the Junta to study this part commenced last Tuesday.

We are now in a position which no other Municipality in Andalucia is in. We have a detailed plan before them which complies with all requirements, includes a fully comprehensive report on the water issues and a complete environmental impact study. We are the first and only municipality in Andalucia to have reached this stage. 

The process now is for these documents, if compliant, to be put before a Pleno meeting sometime between 20th April and 1st May. Then there is a 45 days public consultation period.

The environmental report is also sent to the environment agency who have 1 month to respond. We expect that it should pass their consideration. 

Speaking to those most involved in this process we are optimistic that our plan should pass all considerations and be approved before November of this year. This period to include the public consultation period and the study by the Junta and Commission in totality.


I want to add my thanks and appreciation to the people who have worked so stoically and hard for us in this endeavour Candido Trabalon (previous Mayor), Luis David Garcia (Current Mayor), Manuel Tijeras (Previous Councillor for Urbanisation), Manuel Martos (Secretary) Francisco Salvadore (Technical Architect) and many others.

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