Marbella makes rural land use more flexible in new urban development plan

The town hall's new PGOM increases the municipality's urban land by almost 13 million square metres, compared to the PGOU of 1986

María Albarral

Marbella

Wednesday, 29 May 2024, 17:34

Marbella's urban planning scene has taken a new step forward. Mayor Ángeles Muñoz appeared before the media on Tuesday 28 May, accompanied by the councillor responsible, José Eduardo Díaz, to report on the town's new General Plan for Municipal Planning (PGOM).

The document has just passed the approval phase and will be submitted to the next plenary session for debate.

Among the new features of this roadmap for future development in the town is a reduction in rural land and the flexibility of its uses, offering the municipality new tools for its expansion. "What the PGOM aims to do is to continue with the task of simplifying and making the uses permitted by the town council more flexible within the rural land," said the councillor. "We understand that this rural land will also have the possibility of being developed with different aspects that come within the regulations themselves and, therefore, it will be possible to develop projects that are strategic for the city which, in some cases, cannot be developed on urban land," Muñoz added.

Last year's initial document already provided for an increase of almost 13 million square metres of urban land, from 40 million in the 1986 General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) to more than 52.5 million. "Now we are incorporating more urban land, 1% more, which will mean that we will have approximately 53 or 54 million square metres in our town," the mayor pointed out.

With regard to the objections to the PGOM document initially approved in March 2023, a total of 180 of different types were presented, of which 56 were upheld (32 in full and 26 in part); 89 were rejected; 32 were not accepted, and one was withdrawn.

The Marbella council is developing its urban planning based on the new law of impulse for the sustainability of the territory of Andalucía (LISTA), which divides it into two documents such as the General Plan for Municipal Planning (PGOM) and the Urban Development Plan (POU).

Flexible uses

"I think we have to understand that there is rural land that has certain values that are unappealable and, therefore, those are absolutely protected, but there are others that can be used for the development of this town, for economic activity, to generate employment and wealth, and that is what this document allows."

With these words, Muñoz pointed out the flexibility of the rural land in the PGOM while noting that "many of the actions that come to the town council, which are large-scale actions, mainly linked to tourism, will have the possibility of being implemented in this rural land thanks to the development of extraordinary tourist uses that within these regulations conditions the possibility that if there is an interesting project for the city, for the development of Marbella, it can be carried out".

By way of example, we could highlight the implementation of universities with student residences, large facilities, the sports city, social facilities, or any action that needs a location or a dimension that cannot be accommodated within what is an urban land, but that can have the possibility in a rural one. "We are even looking at the possibility of hotels that have the qualification of an extraordinary hotel linked to a rural hotel, a hotel with differentiating needs that are also allowed in this type of land," added the mayor.

Muñoz also pointed out the issue of housing, saying "the aim of this document is not only to enable us to have a development with the incorporation of more urban land, but also to allow a development in accordance with housing needs".

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