One fifth of South Bohemian municipalities do not have a land use plan

Cesky Budejovice - Nearly one-fifth of municipalities in the South Bohemian Region still do not have their own spatial plan. Without this document, which determines land for future roads or for zones for residential and industrial development, villages cannot further develop. However, creating a plan is expensive for some smaller and medium-sized municipalities. Therefore, the region will help them again this year and allocate 3.25 million crowns from the budget for the preparation of documents, said South Bohemian Governor Jan Zahradnik to reporters today.
    The grant has been announced by the governor's office since 2004. Every year, about three million crowns are invested into it. Just last year, regional funds helped 57 applicants. However, there are still several dozen villages that do not have a spatial plan. Their mayors must manage with low budgets, and the documentation is expensive for them. Without it, they cannot obtain subsidies from the state or from EU funds or even state land at no cost for residential construction.
    "Currently, 512 out of 623 municipalities have an approved or in-progress spatial plan. The situation in individual districts varies," the governor stated. The best situation is in the Budejovice, Krumlov, and Pisek areas. In contrast, the lowest percentage is reported in Strakonice and Tabor, where former district offices approved non-binding urban studies instead of spatial plans before 2003. However, the situation is improving there as well.
    For small municipalities that create plans costing up to 150,000 crowns, the region will cover up to three-quarters of the costs. However, larger settlements, where the creation costs exceed half a million crowns, will only receive 30 percent. The program is designed to be ongoing without a final deadline for submitting applications.
    Thus, the South Bohemian Region has contributed to the creation of spatial plans in more than 150 municipalities in the last four years. The governor's office intends to continue subsidizing the preparation of strategic documentation, which reflects the long-term development of the municipality or the updating of spatial plans, in the coming years.