Spain madrid assembly
According to a draft law submitted to the Madrid Assembly by the Council for Environment and Land Planning, housing development will be allowed even within the boundaries of protected areas, such as regional parks. Introducing as only criterion the ownership of 10 hectares of land and establishing the procedures of “sustainable rural qualification”, the “city license” and the “special plan”, the President of the Council claims that this plan, which is titled “Sustainable rural housing act”, will offer good housing conditions and important revenues to the coffers of the Community.
According to environmental groups, such as Ecologistas en Accion, this draft law is “clearly a demagogic exercise”, a mockery of the term ‘sustainable rural housing’, since it disregards the impact on the biodiversity and the natural resources of these areas, as well as the need for infrastructure, such as roads and waste management systems. The group states that this act aims to satisfy a handful of landowners, at the expense of nature conservation and the quality of life in the adjacent urban centres.
Sources: Announcement by the regional Council of Environment and Land Planning of the Community of Madrid (in Spanish), Ecologistas en Acción (in Spanish)