Municipalities prefer development instead of overemphasized protection of the Southwest planning region

Struga, March 16  The mayors of the Southwest planning region, today, met with representatives of the Ministry of environment and physical planning and the Agency for physical planning, in anticipation of the initiative to develop and adopt a new Spatial plan of R of North Macedonia for the development period from 2020 to 2040. The deputy minister of environment and physical planning, Hristina Odzaklieska and the director of the Agency for physical planning, Andrijana Andreeva, together with her associates introduced the participants to the time frame and methodology for preparation of this important strategic document, which, above all, will be in harmony with the European approach to planning, as one of the necessary steps in approaching and preparing for accession to the European Union.

– The mayors of the region pointed out that the existing legislation hinders the development of the region and they can not meet the demands of investors and citizens. The Mayor of the Municipality of Struga, Ramis Merko appealed not to overemphasize and take protective measures in Ohrid, Struga and Debrca, because positive development effects can not be expected if the needs of the citizens are completely stopped, primarily expressed as needs for building individual houses, and to investors as a need to build new accommodation and restaurant facilities in order to develop tourism and hospitality as a leading branch in the Region. Merko had a remark on the work of the National commission of UNESCO, whose work and views expressed, according to him, are contrary to a number of legal solutions, in the area of ​​urban and spatial planning. Through the discussion in which other mayors and representatives of the municipalities from the Region participated, it was concluded that during the preparation of the new Spatial plan of the country, the development requirements of the municipalities should be taken into account, because without them there will be no economic development, new investments, employment and improvement of the living standard of the population.