The Vila Nova de Famalicão municipal executive approved the opening of the public discussion of the 2nd revision of the Municipal Master Plan (PDM) on Thursday 11 July. This period will formally begin five working days after the announcement is published in the Official Gazette and will last not the usual 30, but 40 working days, as the municipality has decided to extend this period in order to increase public participation.
Meanwhile, the document establishing the municipality's territorial development strategy will now be the subject of several clarification sessions. The first will take place on 22 July, starting at 9pm, in the auditorium of the Camilo Castelo Branco Municipal Library in Vila Nova de Famalicão. This will be followed by the towns of Ribeirão on the 23rd, Joane on the 24th and Riba de Ave on the 25th, all at 9pm at the respective parish council offices.
It should be remembered that this is a simplified revision, motivated above all by the need to adapt the PDM to the changes that have taken place in the legislative framework for land use planning, with the publication of the Law on the General Basis of Public Land Policy, Land Use Planning and Urban Planning and the Legal Framework for Land Management Instruments (RJIGT).
Compared to the previous document, dated 2015, this new PDM foresees an increase in agricultural areas, areas for the exploitation of energy resources and protected forest areas. In terms of urban land, the new PDM also envisages an increase in building capacity for housing and central spaces of around 0.2%, as well as equipment and public green spaces. The new PDM also takes account of the municipality's strong business dynamics, opening doors for the growth of Economic Activity Areas.
The new plan will seek to ensure fairness in land use; promote access to housing and a network of school and sports facilities; preserve, requalify and enhance ecosystems and natural heritage; strengthen competitiveness for a greener economy; fill in the urban fabric and promote rehabilitation; reorganise and diversify mobility and accessibility systems and improve accessibility to business areas, among other objectives driving integrated, inclusive, resilient and sustainable territorial development.
All the documents required for the public discussion period and all the parts of the Plan will soon be available for online consultation at www.famalicao.pt and for face-to-face consultation at the Planning and Urban Management Department.
Those interested in taking part in the public discussion period will be able to submit their suggestions, complaints and observations in person at the DOGU, at a service desk set up for this purpose, open from Monday to Thursday between 09h30 and 17h30 and on Fridays between 09h30 and 11h30. You can also do this online at www.famalicao.pt, but also by post, via registered letter.
It should also be noted that this revision was accompanied by a collegiate Consultative Commission (CC), coordinated and chaired by the CCDR-N, made up of 30 entities representing the direct or indirect administration of the State and neighbouring municipalities.
It should be remembered that the deadline for adapting the Municipal Spatial Planning Plans to the new land classification and classification law, approved in 2014, is 31 December 2024, which ends the figure of developable land, making land with this classification definitively rustic.
