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I. GENERAL INFORMATION

II. PLANNING CONTENT AND PROCESS ACCORDING TO THE VALID ACT

III. CURRENT SITUATION AND MAIN PROBLEMS IN PLANNING

Visit our Web-sites and find:

•    national and regional plans and strategies of spatial development
  
•    spatial planning legislation / planning documents ie enforced/approved plans

There is no comprehensive national plan for spatial development in Norway. The Parliament and central Government decide the national policies sector-wise, leaving spatial planning and co-ordination of national policies to municipalities, county councils and regional state agencies. See chapter II point 1. National planning guidelines.

All 18 county councils prepare a new county plan during each electoral period (4 years). The municipality of Oslo (also being a county) prepares a municipal comprehensive plan, which is approved by central government.

All 435 municipalities have some kind of comprehensive plan. 375 municipalities, i.e. all but 60, have an enforced plan including land use (by 15.2.1999).

The planning regulations are functioning mainly as intended. However, present planning practice is hampered by some weaknesses.

Central government has too many, and too detailed guidelines for the county and municipal planning, not leaving sufficient scope for regional and local policies. Certain sector plans and sector decisions are also superseding the comprehensive planning undertaken by county councils and municipalities.

The mechanisms for co-ordinating spatial planning across municipal boundaries are not sufficient. Each municipality is equally entitled to land use decisions and building permits within its area. Besides, municipalities are to an increasing extent granting exemptions from their own enforced plans. Such practice is causing a rather arbitrary spatial development and undue land use conflicts.

Amongst others these problems call for an enhanced spatial planning function at regional level, bridging the present central government sector approach and municipal diversity.

The planning part of the Planning and Building Act is now being revised. The Government has appointed a commission to look into how the act and the way, in which it is practised, may be improved.

The main structure will not be changed. During the review the commission concentrates on how to:

• make planning more adaptable to changing needs/ new knowledge
• emphasise the national objectives in a number of priority areas (e.g. biological diversity)
• simplify participation and co-operation in the planning and decision-making processes.

The objective is a rational system and high quality processes where all decisions are well founded on research, facilitating broad participation, openness and transparency. In this system decisions must be predictable, within an overall policy and acceptable time frames.

The commission is also to consider a further integration of the provisions for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in the planning processes. First priority is to develop EIA for municipal land use planning.

The Norwegian contribution was prepared by Audun Moflag.
Norwegian Ministry of Environment
Department of Regional Planning, Land Use and Geomatic Policy
Tel. +47 22 24 59 52
E-mail: audun.moflag@md.dep.no

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