THE CALVIÀ TOWN HALL INITIATES AN INNOVATIVE PROCESS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE REVISION OF THE PGOU

The neighbours of the municipality will be able to participate actively during the process

For the first time in the history of Calvià a Revision of the General Plan of Urban Planning (PGOU) will be undertaken counting, during the whole process, on the direct participation of the citizens of the municipality.

At the last municipal Plenary Session, the Town Hall approved the start of the Revision of the PGOU which includes a Participatory Programme, which means an authentic innovation in the scope of the political participation in the territorial planning.

As it was stated at the Plenary, the PGOU currently in force was suffering, throughout the last years, exceptional modifications processed from the hands of the affected lands' owners, which, despite meaning an alteration of the urban model provided in the PGOU from year 2000, were made behind the back of the citizens, causing a situation of legal uncertainty.

The municipal government team, in line with the commitments reached in the investiture's agreement, initiates a participation process which will allow to design, together with other groups, entities and the citizenship in general, a PGOU able to give answer to the expectations and challenges to be brought in the future.

Through the departments of Urban Planning and Citizen Participation, it has been working on a model which includes important novelties in the scope of the participation in the public policy. These novelties, which mean differentiating elements of this participatory PGOU of Calvià, are as follows:

The opening of a participation web for the PGOU:

The process will count on a computer web in which the citizenship and social groups will be able to propose and debate either with the rest of the citizenship or with technicals and politicians of the Calvià Town Hall. Through the PGOU's participation web, the citizenship will be able to either create threads of debate or make modification proposals or direct questions to the public representatives.

The creation of Face-to-face Forums, convened and selfconvened:

The face-to-face forums will be one of the main participatory elements of the PGOU, through them the citizenship will be able to pass over proposals, problems, wills or impressions of the new PGOU. They will have two formats:

• Territorial forums, convened by the Participation Department in each area and aimed at covering general aspects of the territory. These forums will count on the participation of urban planning technicals, the councillor of the area and a facilitator who will guide the meetings.

• Selfconvened thematic Forums, the groups, entities and people who share common interests and necessities must be able to freely and nimbly organise themselves, counting on the technical support of the Calvià Town Hall and ensuring the permanent communication with the PGOU's writing group with the aim of giving answers to the different possible requests that could arise.

Urban Planning Assistance Office:

An office will be opened at the Town Hall's premises during the entire writing process in which the citizenship will be able to be informed about the different progresses and propose alternatives or improvements in the PGOU's writing.

Public Exhibitions:

Each of the different phases of the PGOU's revision will be subject to exhibition and public debate. For this reason, the contents will be published and a presentation for each territorial forum will be carried out as well as for each requested thematic forum.

The Decisions' Traceability:

This is one of the greatest progresses of the Participatory PGOU of Calvià, something that it has not been seen before in the participatory planning of the public policy, which has awaken the interest of other municipalities, as results a paradigmatic example of the disposition to the good governance (participatory, transparent and decent) of the current municipal corporation of Calvià.

Absolutely all the modifications undertaken in the PGOU will be able to be located from their origin, the citizenship and the groups will know at all times where does each proposal come from, which debate was followed in its processing, who were the people or entities that supported it and who did not. This guarantee of transparency will allow to figure out a PGOU unaware of spurious interests, a honest PGOU which counts on the confidence of all the municipality and that is used only for the common good.