Introduction of the municipality’s general plan and urban planning register

On September 24, 2023, the Act of July 7, 2023, amending the Law on Spatial Planning and Development and certain other laws came into force ( Dz.U. 2023 item 1688).

The amendment shapes a number of new concepts and significantly reorganizes the spatial planning system. One of the key changes is the introduction of a municipal general plan, which will have the form of an act of local law. It will be an obligatorily enacted planning document, covering the entire municipality. The municipality’s general plan will replace the current study of the municipality’s land use conditions and directions. They will remain in force until the municipality’s general plan comes into effect, but no longer than December 31, 2025. This is also the deadline by which local governments have time to enact a municipal general plan.

The amendment to the law also results in the introduction of a new ICT system, which will be the Urban Register. The instrument is intended to be an integrated system serving as a source of information and data, including spatial data, related to urban planning and development. Access to the registry will be free and available to all, which will undoubtedly increase the openness of spatial policy information. It is worth noting, however, that given the need to set up an ICT system and prepare institutions to enter certain data, the legislature has indicated that the regulations on the Urban Register will not come into force until January 1, 2026.