User:SpatialGiant/Spatial planning and development in Bulgaria

Levels of administrative spatial division
Since 1999, Bulgaria has consisted of twenty-eight provinces. Each takes their names from respective capital cities:

Since 1 January 1999 by decree of President of the Republic of Bulgaria a new administrative-territorial division of the country was approved, according to which Bulgaria is divided into 28 districts with administrative centers the cities of Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kurdjali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Rousse, Silistra, Sliven, Sofia City, Sofia Region, Stara Zagora, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen and Yambol.

Latest zoning of Bulgaria is related to the planning regions, which are 6 in number. They were drawn by the Council of Ministers with a Decree of 4 March 2000 and then ruled out by the Regional Development Act in 2004. The planning regions are:

1.North-West region with center the city of Vratsa, including the districts of Vidin, Vratza, Montana, 2.North Central region with center the city of Rousse, including the districts of Rousse, Veliko Turnovo, Gabrovo, Pleven, Lovech, 3.North-East region with with center the city of Varna, which includes the districts of Varna, Targovishte, Shumen, Razgrad, Silistra and Dobrich, 4.South-East region with center the city of Burgas, which includes areas with districts of Burgas, Sliven and Yambol, 5.South-Central region of Plovdiv, including Plovdiv, Pazardjik, Smolyan, Stara Zagora, Haskovo and Kardjali, 6.South-West region with center the city of Sofia, including the districts of Sofia-city, Sofia-region, Kyustendil, Pernik and Blagoevgrad.

With the entry into force of the new Regional Development Act (RDA) in 2008, boundaries have been changed and also the centers in some areas, mostly in the north. They are referred to in Article 4, Paragraph 3 of the RDA from 2008.

1. North-West region comprising the districts of Vidin, Vratsa, Lovech, Pleven and Montana; 2. North Central region, including the districts of Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Razgrad, Rousse and Silistra; 3. North-East region, including the districts of Varna, Dobrich, Shumen and Targovishte; 4. South-East region including Burgas, Sliven, Stara Zagora and Yambol; 5. South-West region, including the districts of Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pernik, Sofia-region and Sofia-city; 6. South Central region, including Kardjali, Pazardjik, Plovdiv, Haskovo and Smolyan.

Planning regions were created just for statistical purposes of the European Union and the nomenclature is equivalent to NUTS. In this nomenclature regions of planning are territorial units of level NUTS2. In this nomenclature Bulgaria as a country is level NUTS0 and before 2008 (prior to entering into force the new RDA) the level was NUTS1. With entry into force of the new RDA Bulgaria is divided into two regions of level NUTS1: -Region North/South Bulgaria, including the North-West region, North Central Region, North-East Region and South-East Region; -Region South-West/South Central Bulgaria, including the South-West region and the South Central region. Within level NUTS3 may be formed regions for purposeful impact, which are supported directly by the state and they are subject to certain requirements specified in the RDA.

Summary of Spatial Process in Bulgaria
Regionalization in the country in the context of EU directives is subject to the principles of subsidiarity, cohesion and territorial justice. The principle of subsidiarity means that services for the population is better to be received from a center located as close as possible to them. Cohesion means to reduce differences inside the respective territory. Territorial justice is concerned with the balance in the development of territories. If one area is lagging, it receives additional funding at the expense of another more developed territory. According to the 2004 RDA, targeted impact areas are 6 types: 1.Metropolitan municipality; 2.Area of economic growth; 3.Region in industrial decline; 4.Underdeveloped border region; 5.Poor rural region; 6. Underdeveloped mountainous region.

Again according to that law, the territorial scope of these areas for targeted impact is determined, taking into account the level and dynamics of economic development, the structure of the economy, employment/unemployment, the degree of completion of the technical infrastructure, demographic, social and urban structure, geographical position and potentials to achieve the development objectives of the region. The rest of articles of the RDA state that the territorial scope of these regions is determined in regional development plans, and a municipality may enter more than one area targeted impact if it meets the various criteria set out in the Act and its regulations.

Functionality of the planning regions as well as those of targeted impact is to promote and facilitate regional development in a given territory. Regional planning is concerned with the overall development of larger pieces of land and regions for purposeful impact permit direct intervention and support of the state of a small territory with its specific problems. In targeted impact areas the intervention is not only strictly determinated within the region but also it is about its specific problems. In RDA there is even a provision that if a municipality reaches values beyond certain thresholds of performance, it might be excluded from the region.

Also some fundamental principles come from the territory development act: · Integral link between spatial planning and regional development; · Equality of all types of rights of property; · Balance between private and public interests (related to land-use and development). · Supremacy of public interests in respect to strategic aspects of the territory (like ecology,technical infrastructure, cultural heritage);

Fundamental principles of spatial planning policy are determined by the Council of Ministers. Minister of Regional Development and Public Works is responsible for its implementation: coordinates the activities at all levels and exercises control over the overall spatial planning practice through the National Construction Control Directorate. Governors of Districts have to implement the national spatial planning policy within the territory of the administrative regions whereof they are in charge. It depends on the spatial planning objectives and tasks of regional and inter-municipality importance the District Governor may appoint a regional expert board on spatial planning. The line Minister appoints a National Expert Board on Spatial planning and Regional Policy which approves planning documents of national importance.

In the period of 80's centralised planning in Republic of Bulgaria has been using an unified territorial development plan for the whole national territory. After the Wall Fall in Central and Eastern Europe during the nineties the planning processes were neglected or even abandoned. Just after 1998 that the practice of planning has been restored but on a new broader basis which has opened the way for the decentralisation approach. A process of planning has been conducted in connection with the implementation of the Regional Development Act (1999). A National Regional Development Plan and district/regional development plans have been elaborated. There is still need for coordination of economic and spatial planning and according to SPA a National Integrated Development Scheme has to be created. The work has started in this direction through the prepared methodology for preparation of the National Scheme. The intentions are the National Scheme to be bound with the National Regional Development Plan.

Master development plans for municipilities experience difficulties due to financial shortage and according to RDA it has to be a responsibility of the municipalities. According to the Regional Development Act during the 1999 – 2000 period there have been issued different municipal development strategies and relevant action plans. Also in their forthcoming up-dating they should take into account the municipality master development plans in a way providing a territorial basis for economical and social planning. Certain municipalities supported by the UNDP prepared their own sustainable local development strategies, which is called “Agenda 21”. At the end it should be pointed out that the practice of planning at local level has been developed and the municipalities have gained more and more planning skills, including public participation in meetings and municipal forums.

Conclusions
The need of detailed enough development plans is obvious from viewpoint of property ownership and investment initiatives or building development. The Directorate for National Building Control has suggested changes which suppose a more strict regulation for new construction in the coutnry. Due to difficulties about development plans in detail for an entire city or parts of a town in recent years very detailed plans are elaborated for smaller spots of urbanised areas and even for particular land lots. This practice of creating partialy detailed development plans brings problems to the spatial planning process because the fragmented solutions do not take into account the global vision.

A new Spatial Planning Act comes with Bulgarian Cabinet approval on March 26, 2009 - a draft which would amend the old Regional Development Act. Though in real terms, there is not efficient instrument to regulate urban development in size and strength, hence the problems with their spatial planning. It hardly captures the trends of society. And actually there is not a deep enough economic analysis, no surveys of attitudes and needs of modern people. Sociologists serve only political processes and attitudes to elections and are actually indebted country in this direction. Further much more has to be done for a better and more harmonious territorial cohesion and development in the country.

EU legislation concerning Spatial development in Bulgaria
The commitments of Republic of Bulgaria about its strategy for participation in EU Structural and the Cohesion Funds and also the provisions under Chapter 21 of the Accession Treaty are respected. • Council Regulation (EC)No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund; • Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the European Regional Development Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1783/1999; • Chapter 21 “Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments” (CONF-BG 56/01) and the Common EU Position on Chapter 21 (CONF-BG 80/01); • Community Strategic Guidelines for Cohesion adopted on 6.10.2006 following a Decision of the Council of 18.8.2006; • EC Working Paper Cohesion policy and cities: the urban contribution to growth and jobs in the regions • Regulation of the Commission No 438 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards the management and control systems for assistance granted under the Structural Funds • Commission Regulation (EC) No 448/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards the procedure for making financial corrections to assistance granted under the Structural Funds; • Commission Regulation (EC) No 448/2004 of 10 March 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards the eligibility of expenditure of operations co-financed by the Structural Funds and withdrawing Regulation (EC) No 1145/2003; • Commission Regulation No 1159/2000 – regarding the measures for supplying information and transparency on the Structural Funds aid; • Directive of the Council and the European Parliament No 42/2001, regarding the evaluation of the environment impact of the separate plans and programmes; • Directive for the evaluation of the environmental impact (85/337/EEC and its amendment with 97/11/EC) • Regulation 1059/2003 of the EC, regarding the Classification of the EU regions (EU NUTS); • Strategy for economic and social renovation of Europe – adopted by the European Council in Lisbon, 23- 24 March, 2000. • Report of the Commission for the Spring Session of the European Council and Parliament – COM (2005) 24 from 2 February, 2005 – A new start for the Lisbon Strategy;