Everything about the moratorium

The moratorium fixes in 450 the maximum annual number of building licences that can be given on Mallorca for single houses on rustic land.

27 municipalities and the urban centres of 10 coastal municipalities are completely excluded from the application of the moratorium in connection to urban or ubanisable land.

On January 22, 2002 the full council meeting of the Consell de Mallorca approved definitely the Norma Territorial Cautelar to ensure the viability and effectivity of the Plan Territorial de Mallorca. The urbanistic moratorium was approved with the favourable votes of the parties that make up the Pacte de Progrés whereas the Partido Popular voted against, alleging that the norm was not legal and contained many errors. The approved moratorium, that complements the previous Norma Territorial Cautelar passed on October 25, 2000 by the same institution, will be valid until the Mallorcan Territorial Plan enters, or in its defect, for a maximum period of two years.

The approval of the Temporary Territorial Norm was finally agreed upon by the parties of the Progress Pact after the Balearic Government renounced the application of their moratorium approved last August 3, 2001 and the reform of the Territorial Planning Directives, and after Unió Mallorquina accepted extending the moratorium to rustic land.

The Norma Territorial Cautelar approved introduces with respect to the first approved one, on July 26, 2001, a provisional norm for the authorisation of single houses on rustic land throughout Mallorca that fixes the number in 450 for the maximum annual licences that can be given for the construction of single houses while the moratorium is valid. This regulation contemplated by the norm affects all the municipalities of Mallorca.

Another novelty in respect to the previous proposal is that the moratorium approved excludes from its field of application the lands classed as urban or urbanisable for determined municipalities and the interior urban centres of certain coastal municipalities bearing in mind the percentage of land consumed in 1995-2000, according to the study of vacant land prepared by the Balearic Government.

The 26 municipalities affected by the application of the norm referring to urban or urbanisable lands are: Alaró, Alcúdia, Andratx, Artà, Bunyola, Calvià, Campos, Capdepera, Deià, Esporles, Felanitx, Fornalutx, Llucmajor, Manacor, Marratxí, Muro, Palma, Pollença, Sant Llorenç, Santa Margalida, Santanyí, Sencelles, Ses Salines, Sóller, Son Servera and Valldemossa.

The 27 municipalities that are completely excluded from the application of the moratorium refering to urban or urbanisable land are: Algaida, Ariany, Banyalbufar, Binissalem, Búger, Campanet, Consell, Costitx, Escorca, Estellencs, Inca, Lloret, Lloseta, Llubí, Mancor de la Vall, Maria de la Salut, Montuïri, Petra, Porreres, Puigpunyent, Sa Pobla, Sant Joan, Santa Eugènia, Santa Maria, Selva, Sineu and Vilafranca.

The norm approved also excludes from its field of application referring to urban or urbanisable land the interior centres of 10 coastal municipalities affected by the field of application of the norm. These are the urban centres of Artà, Campos, Capdepera, Felanitx, Manacor, Muro, Pollença, Santa Margalida, Ses Salines and Sóller.

In the 26 municipalities affected by the moratorium except the 10 urban centres mentioned before that are excluded, the concession of urban authorisation for plurifamily buildings are suspended, which includes buildings of apartments and terraced houses. This norm also includes four exception related to the catalogued historic groups (listed buildings), the rehabilitation of buildings, the public protection buildings and the buildings for people with reduced mobility.

On the other hand, via the necessary urban permission, the construction of buildings destined to residential use for single families will allowed, as long as the kind of building projected permits only one house per plot. Also the number of isolated constructions for one families that are permitted by the municipal planning on one plot will also be allowed.

The Temporary Territorial Norm contemplates a provisional regulation of the authorisations for tourist accommodation use, that will be permissible with the complete fulfilment of the current tourist norm, and also the corresponding applicable urban norm. This regulation affects 26 municipalities that the moratorium includes, except for the 10 urban centres mentioned before.

Finally, the Provisional Territorial Norm becomes effective as from the date after its publication in the Butlletí Oficial de les Illes Balears and in respect to urban and urbanisable land and tourist use regulated by this norm, this includes the building requests to the corresponding Town Hall as from July 4, 2001; and reference to rustic land, as from the entrance of the norm.

Photo © Archive BalearWeb

Date of publication: 24/01/2002

Mallorca >> News >> Archive 1999-2003 >> Everything about the moratorium