HE Madrid High Court of Justice The legal doubts weighing on him were cleared this Tuesday. Operation Chamartinnow renamed to Madrid New NorthA definite boost to the largest urban development in Spain.
Specifically, the Disputed Administrative Division of the Madrid High Court rejected a total of nine objections and that the current change does not “change the classification of the land, or does not require a significant increase in buildable area for economic activities“, among other arguments. Decisions reported by the Madrid high court They can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
One of the appeals currently inadmissible was also presented by Ecologists in Action, one of the most active NGOs in the fight against new urban developments. They also objected to the Community of Madrid’s agreements on: Urban Discussion Club, created by Madrid’s ex-politicians leave Like Eduardo Mangada (PSOE), Concha Denche (IU) or Félix Arias (PSOE). Second, he argued that the urban use of railroad land was illegal, and criticized that the development had programmed less green space than was legally required, and subsidized housing.
What is Madrid Nuevo Norte?
Operation Chamartín, now renamed Madrid Nuevo Norte, is the most important urban development in the capital. not because of its size, but because of its location.. MNN affects the entire terrain of Chamartín Station, its surroundings and tracks. Over the years, this infrastructure has become a box in the middle of the city. The concept of this city plan dates back to the 1980s, but it didn’t start until 2020.
According to the data provided by the organizer of the project, Crea Madrid Nuevo Norte (formerly Distrito Castellana Norte), the execution will take place. 3.29 million square meters10,500 residences, office buildings and commercial areas will be built. Operation Chamartín involves the burial of the Station and its roads, which will transform into a large green space, Central Park.
from the Community of Madrid We welcome the court’s decision. Paloma Martín, Minister of Environment, Housing and Agriculture, said in a statement that this urban development “will serve to improve the quality of life of thousands of people. and will attract a lot of investment”. They also positively evaluate the 12,000 million Euro contribution that Madrid Nuevo Norte will make to Madrid’s gross domestic product during the years of development.
Arguments of the appellants
Appeals were filed against the Madrid Community Governing Council Agreement of 25 March 2020, which definitively approved the Special Amendment to the Convention. General City Planning Plan The capital in relation to the Prolongación de la Castellana and Colonia Campamento.
The plaintiffs first requested that the decisions amending the 1997 General Urban Planning Plan be declared null and void, as it was a measure to cover up according to their own criteria. review of the urban planning of the city they said it was fake, also violating the procedural principle.
Simultaneously, they demanded that the agreement be radically terminated as it was the result of a previous agreement between them. ADIF/DCN and Madrid City Council, something prohibited under the provisions of section 25 of the Community Land Code of Madrid (LSCM). They also defended the plan. shifts the balance between constructability and the quantity and quality of donations, urban development alternatives are not adequately considered in its treatment and environmental assessment, or the urbanization benefit of land currently affected by the public railway area by placing a huge concrete slab on top of which most of the development’s green spaces are located.
proper procedure
The magistrates dismissed all claims made by the plaintiffs, starting with the first, in view of the urban change brought about by the special amendment of the General City Planning Plan. “followed the proper procedure“as it is only a modification of the current planning, not a revision of the 1997 PGOUM”.
Therefore, they confirm that its territorial scope, which in its arrangement was limited to the two previous planning areas (APR 08.03 “Prolongación de la Castellana” and APE 05.27 “Colonia Campamento) in no way coincides with the integrity of the space zone. Given the global size of the municipal area, the municipality of Madrid is very constitutes a small regional area”, he notes. They add that the change “does not imply a change of such magnitude that would necessitate the integrity of the global organization of the 1997 POGOUM.” rethinkalbeit in part as claimed by the plaintiff”.
“Changing the elements of the constructive arrangement it requires—emphasizing one of the sentences—in no way, a modification of the adopted regional model, which require reconciliation in both article 68.3 of the LSCM and article 154 of the Urban Planning Regulation (RPU)”.
To conclude their reply, the judges said, “In the act of urban transformation carried out with the accepted measure, urban transformation and rehabilitation goals, Urban stitching and, ultimately, the integration of railway infrastructures in the city, to close the wound created by infrastructures in the fabric of the city, according to what was conceived in the 1997 PGOUM, including the change in 2002″.
protective body
The judges also state in their decision that the current change does not change the classification of the land; does not require a significant increase in the buildable area for economic activities; Provides a buildable area for protection enclosure when previous general planning did not establish a minimum reserve for this housing system, it was around 20.78 percent.
Likewise, they point out that the project integrates a railway structure with the construction of a new intermodal station, which does not mean a change in the urban model of the city of Madrid. 1997 MGOUM Its implementation also does not mean an increase in the population of the Madrid municipal area by more than 20 percent.
For all these reasons, they are of the opinion that it is not possible to talk about abuse of power or an arbitrary process in the approval of the amendment, because “it is enough to go to the planning background to realize the necessary and compulsory reasons. cooperation of administrations in the implementation and development of the new urban area, with the integration of the private company is not blurred in the same final execution”.
Concerning the use of land already allocated to the public railway area and the installation of a huge concrete slab on which most of the green areas of the zoning will be placed, the Court held that “the scope of the new land railway system created by Royal Decree 1.1 1093/1997 can be registered. Property Registry of Urban Nature Actions.”
For this reason, magistrates reject the allegation of non-abuse or abuse of power.”legally and urbanly justified the treatment attributed to the so-called ‘flooring’ of railway floors in planning”.
The next steps of the handle
Crea Madrid Nuevo Norte (formerly Distrito Castellana Norte), which promotes urban development “ legal force of planningPrepared and processed by the Madrid City Council and definitively approved by the regional government of the Community of Madrid and through Adif with the participation of the Government of Spain”.
Company Owned by BBVA, Merlin Properties and Grupo San José He believes that “the legal applicability of a strategic project with the broadest institutional and societal consensus and which has become an international benchmark for sustainable urban transformation through public-private cooperation has become clear for the country”.
The next steps in urban development will be: present the initiatives of three of the urban areas (APE 08.21 Las Tablas Oeste, APE 05.31 Chamartín Business Center and APE 08.20 Malmea-San Roque-Tres Olivos), including key urbanization projects, common and shared infrastructures, and foundations and statutes of future pay boards. This will enable urbanization work to begin in the Las Tablas Oeste region throughout 2024.