During the August plenary session, the modification was approved, aiming to redefine the perimeter of land designated for aggregate extraction. The governing team (PSPV) and the PP voted in favor, while Compromís expressed their opposition. This step will allow the Directorate General of Natural Environment and Environmental Assessment to evaluate the definitive suitability of the request.
The agreement includes the incorporation of a transitional provision to regulate activity in the area burned in 2001, which must be excluded from the extraction zone for 30 years, according to forestry law. A particular objection was also dismissed.
The Councilor for Urban Planning, Laura Castellà, explained that the modification, dating back to 2022, seeks to align the mining authorization with the PGOU, ensuring urban planning legality and environmental safety. Castellà highlighted the lengthy administrative procedures and the need to submit the file to the competent body of the Generalitat to end a process that has been ongoing for years.
Castellà emphasized that all legal steps have been followed and a favorable strategic environmental assessment has been obtained. She defended the provisional approval for its adherence to legality, assuring that the land remains non-urbanizable and that the Town Council will benefit from the free transfer of land. She also argued the decision was based on economic responsibility, given the increase in construction and public works, using local materials to reduce the carbon footprint.
The Urban Planning official stated that this approval provides solutions to long-standing problems and represents a historic milestone for Pego, protecting over 500,000 square meters of municipal land.
For their part, the spokesperson for Compromís, Àngel Oltra, described the file as "long," with the first authorization dating back to 2014. He criticized that local technicians' criteria are not always followed and pointed to unfavorable reports from the technical office and the territorial urban planning service, as well as the company's failure to incorporate environmental conditions.
Oltra also questioned the benefit to the town of the land transfer, considering it a degraded forest area. He regretted that the landscape will change with the disappearance of a mountaintop. Compromís believes that waiting times are not being reduced and that the Town Council's warnings should have been heeded before the vote.
The spokesperson for the PP, Ferran González, defended the proposal as "coherent" and an "environmental protection barrier" for the town, highlighting the three favorable environmental reports. He noted that the change in forestry law, requiring 30 years for burned areas, makes the current situation unjust. He advocated for relying on external reports to resolve a "stuck" file.
González stressed that this is a provisional approval and that the Ministry of Environment has the final say. He stated that the approval will lead to a 50% reduction in extraction, improve the access road, and that the company employs over 100 families, being a benchmark in regeneration efforts following the storm in the Valencian Community.
The Councilor for Urban Planning reiterated that the provisional approval is being made because the final approval authority does not lie with the Town Council, and to avoid indefinitely waiting for contradictory sectoral reports, aiming to process stalled files.
