The City Council will approve the measure at the plenary on Tuesday and will impose fines on 11 swimming pools that have been filled without a permit
The municipality of Palafrugell will not be able to have new swimming pools for a year. This will be decreed by the City Council, which will vote on the suspension of licenses for this type of facilities at the plenary session next Tuesday, February 27. The reason is the emergency situation due to drought that the territory is experiencing and the need to adapt the Urban Planning Plan (POU) to the challenges of climate change.
The mayor of Palafrugell, Juli Fernández, explained that “the purpose of the suspension is to review the POU in relation to swimming pools in order to regulate the dimensions, depths and efficient use of water, among other aspects , since the urban planning model has changed compared to recent years.”
Sanctioning files in 11 swimming pools
At the same time as the suspension of licenses, the City Council will also open 11 disciplinary proceedings against newly built swimming pools that have been filled with water without respecting the current limitation due to the drought. “Since entering phase 1 of the emergency, we have detected these violations thanks to the inspections we have carried out from the town hall,” said Fernández.
With this measure, the City Council wants to expand the actions it is taking to reduce water consumption in the municipality and plan future measures based on the conclusions of the study that will be carried out for the adaptation of the POU to the climate change. The temporary suspension of licenses will also allow us to enter a period of urban planning reflection on this type of facility and avoid having to pursue individuals who have a new swimming pool on their property.
Coincidence with the opposition
The idea of putting a stop to the construction of new swimming pools is shared by opposition groups, such as ERC, where the spokesperson, Mònica Alcalà, already showed support in a recent interview to tighten the criteria, within the legality, o Palafrugell En Comú Podemos, which had already presented a motion to be debated on the same Tuesday with the moratorium proposal, at least “until the regular supply of water is guaranteed”. The group led by Josep Ferrés also proposes increasing the requirements to reuse gray water in newly constructed buildings or increasing the use of regenerated water from the Val-llobrega treatment plant.