Construction sites at risk of being blocked. The Ministry is trying to save the situation

• The Ministry of Development and Technology has presented a draft amendment to the Act on Spatial Planning and Development.
• It proposed a change that will allow municipalities to continue implementing the necessary public-purpose investments while simultaneously preparing a general plan.
• - The lack of such a legislative change could result in the blocking of investments that require a long-term preparation process - comments Grzegorz Cichy, president of the Union of Polish Towns, for PortalSamorzadowy.pl.

On Monday, May 5, a draft amendment to the Spatial Planning and Development Act was published. As the Ministry of Development and Technology reminds in its justification, in accordance with the currently applicable regulations, after July 1, 2026, studies on the conditions and directions of spatial development of municipalities will cease to be valid .

At the same time, the Ministry of Sport and Tourism assesses that the state of advancement of work on general plans and the fact that some local governments have not yet started preparing them indicate the need to change the provision that makes the possibility of issuing a decision on determining the location of a public purpose investment dependent on the entry into force of the commune's general plan.

Therefore, the proposed regulation provides for the possibility of issuing a decision on determining the location of a public purpose investment in the period from the date of expiry of the study of conditions and directions of spatial development of the commune until the adoption of the general plan. Such a change will allow communes to continue implementing necessary public purpose investments while preparing the general plan in parallel - emphasizes the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Regulatory Impact Assessment.

The draft assumes the lifting of the ban on issuing location decisions after the study expires . It is also envisaged that the requirement of the general plan coming into force for decisions on development conditions issued in closed areas will not be maintained.

We asked the local government community for a comment on the proposed changes. - This is a step in the right direction, because this change will allow municipalities that do not manage to adopt a general plan to implement public-purpose investments - says Grzegorz Cichy, president of the Union of Polish Towns, and adds:

In municipalities where there are no local spatial development plans and where the adoption of a general plan would not be possible in time, the lack of such a legislative change could result in the blocking of investments that require a long-term preparation process, including documentation. Such investments include the construction of a storm sewer system, a sanitary sewer system or the construction of heating networks.

- explains Grzegorz Cichy.

As he emphasizes, there is a shortage of urban planners who will prepare general plans, and there are not many office workers who deal with spatial development. The accumulation of these factors adversely affects the pace of work related to the adoption of general plans in municipalities .

Due to the fact that the planning procedure is additionally time-consuming, labor-intensive and expensive, this additionally caused municipalities to postpone its commencement. Therefore, at the moment, in the opinion of President Cichy, it is important that entities to which municipalities must submit the draft general plan efficiently agree on and give opinions on this document.