Skylakakis: Incentives will be given in urban planning after Council of State ruling

Incentives will be given in evolving urban planning rules, Environment and Energy Minister Theodoros Skylakakis said on Thursday, in the wake of a Council of State ruling in which aspects of the New Building Code (NOK) were deemed unconstitutional.

Skylakakis, in an announcement on Thursday, stated:

"The decision of the Council of State on the New Building Code (a 2012 law) concerns - primarily - its jurisprudence on the constitutionally foreseen need for local, urban planning

It is important that this decision does not affect any existing building (apart from those that are already the subject of an appeal), whether it has been completed or work has in any way begun on it. Something that would create very serious legal uncertainty and negatively affect thousands of citizens and professionals.

At the same time, it is important that this decision confirms the possibility of having, where necessary for environmental or other reasons, special incentives (bonus) regarding heights, roofs, planted roofs, etc. and this is important because these tools are totally necessary in order to address the consequences of climate change, especially in densely built-up areas, as the way our megacities are currently structured (large coverage, with low height), makes them unsustainable in the long term in an environment of worsening climate crisis and increased temperatures. These incentives will therefore be foreseen, where this becomes necessary, in the context of local, urban planning, which is in progress, with a corresponding legislative initiative of the government, which will be undertaken immediately, so that there is visibility and legal security.

After all, the government has been implementing for three years the largest local planning programme since the creation of the Greek State, which will allow us to establish in a legally indisputable way incentives, such as those contained in the NOK, where they are really necessary.

At the same time, we will undertake multiple initiatives in order to limit the phenomena of local corruption, linked to the implementation of urban planning legislation.