FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES IN THE ISSUANCE OF BUILDING PERMITS AND GREEK BUILDING LAW
The Greek Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (YPEKA) is planning fundamental changes in spatial planning and urban planning with the aim of providing investors with a more attractive investment environment.
According to the ministry’s plans, it will be possible to modify regional spatial planning strategies and municipal spatial development plans (former general development plans) at any time and to include new projects. In an area of 200 metres around motorways, trunk roads and country roads, even in protected areas, the development is to be permitted in exceptional cases.
Fundamental changes can also be seen in the definition of construction factors. The zones to be determined with a building factor are to be determined in accordance with the municipal spatial planning plans. These zones are to be divided into different categories such as settlements with more than 200 inhabitants and 300 houses and in municipalities with less than 200 inhabitants.
In areas with a high urban planning burden due to the legalization of illegal buildings, such as in the area of Attica, Thessaloniki or Heraklion on Crete, no zones can be defined for the determination of a building factor.
The zones to be determined with a construction factor must have an area of more than 50,000 ares. Their distance to the nearest settlement may not exceed 10 kilometres and urban planning is carried out in accordance with the procedure provided for urban planning or urban expansion plans. The procedure refers exclusively to purely residential areas, the plot size is at least 400 metres with a maximum construction factor of 0.5.
According to Article 19 of the draft law, a building factor transfer will now take place in these areas:
- of institutional or jointly used areas in areas with approved development plans for which their owners have not been compensated by the municipality, so that they have been assigned to public use,
- of remaining building factors of listed buildings, plots of archaeological or cultural value, etc.
- of former army compounds that have now been left for public use,
- of state-owned public buildings that are to be transferred,
- of public areas or old substructures that are adjacent to approved development plans and are still outside the development zone,
- of old or abandoned, tourist and industrial facilities in areas outside the built-up zone,
- of areas with self-contained or institutional development,
- of properties that are subject to a construction ban by public interventions,
- of properties from building cooperatives that are located wholly or partly within private forest areas.
- By radically changing the Spatial Planning Act, the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change (YPEKA) is aiming for flexible spatial planning that can be modified at any time and even on a larger scale.
According to the draft law, two levels of planning will be established:
the national level, which is to be implemented by the Ministry itself,
the regional strategies to be approved by the decentralised (municipal) administration.
In all cases, the new draft law provides for an adaptation of the planning to development needs. This will allow regional strategies and municipal spatial development plans to be modified so that projects of national importance, public interest, as well as projects related to the special spatial development plans for public real estate and strategic investments or other strategic investments, projects and projects of national or European programmes can be integrated.
Industrial
Through the municipal spatial development plan, an area for the development of production and business activities and a second area for industrial purposes will be designated in each municipality. All or part of these areas will be built on and used as facilities for the corresponding activities.
In municipalities with increased livestock farming, livestock farms are built in areas outside the built-up zone, so that the infrastructures (roads, facilities, electricity networks, water supply, etc.) can be used and exploited jointly.
Promotion of problem areas
For areas with important pressures (e.g. places with extended mining activities, areas affected by natural or other disasters, etc.)
special financial support is provided for companies established there.
Development zone in protected areas
According to the new law, a zone with an area of 200 m is to be built around motorways, trunk roads or country roads that are located within protected areas. With some exceptions, building permits are to be issued for properties located on these roads and within the 200 m zone. It is still unclear whether the corresponding provision will also apply to protected areas. In any case, a building permit is issued in accordance with the intended land use and the valid building regulations before the designated area as a protected area.
These properties are to house residential domiciles, leisure facilities, large-scale distributions, cultural centres, storage rooms, car parks, petrol stations, etc.
Administrative acts already issued for real estate within the aforementioned areas are considered valid, provided that they have not been repealed by an irrevocable court order. For these properties, which can also include legalized illegal buildings, a building permit is issued for the expansion, modification or modernization of buildings and facilities, as well as a renewal of environmental regulations.
For activities within the protected areas (except for the highly protected zones), in addition to the environmental impact assessment, a specific analysis on the ecological assessment must be submitted, which must be approved by the Directorate of Environment and National Planning of the Local Decentralised Administration.
