At the ministry, we are taking steps to facilitate access to uniform, reliable and complete information about the planned spatial development throughout the country, available online - says Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Technology, adding: – Our solutions, which introduce spatial planning data standards, will facilitate and accelerate the implementation of investments. Both local government units (LGUs) and citizens will benefit from the new solutions. LGUs will be able to monitor the status of planning works in a more effective manner, while the citizens will be able to check online whether the plot they want to buy is covered by the local spatial plan.

The regulation results from the introduction of Chapter 5a to the Spatial Planning and Development Act (Act of 16 April 2020 amending the Act – Geodetic and Cartographic Law and certain other acts; PDF, 698KB).

These rules impose an obligation on the authorities issuing spatial planning acts to produce digital planning data. This obligation also applies to acts already in force.

The spatial planning acts include

(Article 67a, section 2 of the Act on Planning and Spatial Development):

•     voivodeship spatial development plans;
•     studies of land use conditions and directions;
•     local zoning plans;
•     local reconstruction plans;
•     local revitalisation plans;

The digital planning data include, as a minimum

(Article 67a, section 3 of the Act on Planning and Spatial Development):

•     the spatial extent of the act in question in vector form;
•     drawing of the act in the raster form with spatial reference (georeference);
•     a reference to the content of the related document.

The Regulation of the Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Technology of 26 October 2020 on spatial data sets and metadata in the field of spatial development is another instrument in the initiated process of organising the digitisation of spatial planning. Its purpose is to specify the manner of implementation of the requirements adopted in the Act.

The regulation presents details concerning a number of aspects, including:

•     classification of the types of collections and data sets created and maintained in connection with land use and spatial planning;
•     the types and attributes of the spatial objects contained in the sets and the code lists used;
•     the relationship between objects and attributes, including temporal, spatial and topological relations;
•     restrictions on object types or features (attributes, relationships, operations);
•     rules on creating identifiers of sets and spatial objects;
•     coordinate systems used to specify the spatial location of objects;
•     data formats for sharing;
•     structure and scope of metadata of spatial information infrastructure in the field of spatial development.

Technical aspects

The technical aspects concerning the creation of relevant spatial data will be shared on a new website (www.gov.pl/zagospodarowanieprzestrzenne), in the form of a data specification for spatial planning with application schemas in UML and GML formats.

Read the current regulations on the digitisation of spatial planning.

Let’s support each other

Soon we will provide an APP digitisation tool in the form of a plug-in to the open QGIS software called APP Plug-n. We are also going to launch an on-line validation service for spatial data and metadata. The tools are to support local governments and APP creators in creating planning data in accordance with the Regulation, as well as voivodeship units in supervising the implementation of resolutions on spatial planning acts and verifying the correctness of data.

Why the change?

To date, there has been no standard in Poland that would define the rules for creating digital planning data. As a result, the data created to date were heterogeneous, using varied nomenclature and terms. As a result, it is difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to combine data from different sources and perform spatial analyses.

The solution will also streamline and enable timely implementation of Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007, which establishes the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) in the field of spatial planning.

Legal basis

Act of 27 March 2003 on Spatial Planning and Development (Dz. U. [Journal of Laws] of 2003, no. 80 item 717).

Regulation of the Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Technology of 26 October 2020 on spatial data sets and metadata in the field of spatial development https://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/D2020000191601.pdf

The regulation is a result of the introduction of Chapter 5a to the Spatial Planning and Development Act https://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/D2020000078201.pdf