Photo: HANS VAN GEFFEN
A widespread issue across Catalonia
The Catalan daily El Punt Avui published an article on 7 August 2025, entitled “Urbanitzacions de segona”, describing a worrying situation: nearly 1,500 residential developments have been identified across Catalonia, and almost half have still not been formally integrated into the municipal system. As a result, the provision of essential public services (water, street lighting, roads and sanitation) may be delayed or remain unavailable, despite residents paying local taxes.
The Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona) has identified 367 developments with infrastructure deficiencies across 118 municipalities. Since 2018, only around ten have been fully regularised and incorporated into the municipal networks. The figures are striking:
- 83% have few or no basic services.
- 74% have no local shops.
- 50% lack public facilities.
- 20% are located in non-developable areas (natural parks, etc.).
Planas del Rey: a representative case with its own characteristics
Planas del Rey is part of this wider issue, while also presenting several specific characteristics. The former EUCC (Entitat Urbanística Col·laboradora de Conservació) was dissolved in 2016 after being declared unlawful. Since then, the Municipality of Pratdip has maintained that the development cannot fully benefit from municipal services until its infrastructure has been formally accepted by the municipality.
This situation no longer appears to result solely from technical or financial constraints. It also raises questions about the municipality’s infrastructure management and budgetary priorities.
A new legal framework: Decree-Law 2/2025
In force since 27 February 2025, the Catalan Government’s Decree-Law 2/2025 introduces several important changes:
- It allows municipalities to provide minimum public services, including in certain non-developable areas.
- It authorises autonomous solutions where connection to a public network is not feasible.
- It opens the possibility of phased acceptance of infrastructure, avoiding the immediate transfer of all costs to property owners.
- It strengthens transparency by requiring municipalities to publish planning documents in a publicly accessible register.
For Planas del Rey, this new legal framework significantly changes the context. It creates new opportunities regarding the provision of minimum public services and the acceptance of infrastructure, although the practical impact of these measures will depend on how they are implemented.
What comes next?
This new legal framework opens up several possible avenues for action and discussion:
- Request the official publication of Planas del Rey’s urban planning status.
- Explore the possibility of a phased acceptance of the infrastructure.
- Rely on case law and the provisions of the Decree-Law when supporting future administrative or legal proceedings.
- Continue informing property owners by highlighting that Planas del Rey is not an isolated case but part of a broader challenge affecting many residential developments throughout Catalonia.
Conclusion
The El Punt Avui article highlights that Planas del Rey is not an isolated case, but one of many residential developments across Catalonia still facing difficulties in achieving full regularisation. Decree-Law 2/2025 introduces a new legal framework that may facilitate the implementation of future solutions. For property owners in Planas del Rey, the key issue now is to monitor how these new provisions will be applied by the relevant public authorities and what practical impact they will have on access to municipal services.
10/08/2025
Jim – La Tribune de Planas
