Andorra la Vella Slashes Building Capacity 40% in Revised Urban Plan

Andorra la Vella's revised Pla d’Ordenació i Urbanisme Parroquial (POUP) will cap buildings at seven storeys parish-wide, cut average building capacity by 40% and raise mandatory land cessions from developers to 30%.

Consul Major Sergi González and Consul Minor Olalla Losada presented the updated plan on Tuesday with urban architect Mònica Beguer and geographer Helena Cruz of Territoris XLM. González detailed zoned reductions: 15-25% on the valley floor, 30-40% mid-slope and 50-65% upper slope. "This works out to an average 40% drop in buildable area across the entire parish," he said.

Losada called the strategy one of "maximum ambition," focused on improving quality of life through habitability, identity and sustainability. The plan rejects the 2017 version's lenient growth projections, which could have tripled the population from 25,300 to 76,500. The new limits allow doubling to around 44,500 residents, with 12-18% of capacity needed over the next decade.

Key changes include a 20-25 metre no-build buffer around mid-slope recs areas. In La Comella, potential homes drop from 5,000 to 500 to protect green lungs, biodiversity and water reserves. At Parc Central, buildable area falls from 211,000 to 163,000 square metres, with heights of 8-10 storeys to avoid shadows. Green space there will expand by 5,000 square metres to 17,964, plus an underground car park.

The plan targets 1,600 affordable homes via public and private efforts. Valley-floor partial plans can gain 10% extra capacity if allocated to affordable housing, distributable across owners or sites. "We want to encourage private owners to help solve this shared challenge," Losada said. Sites over 2,500 square metres require impact studies.

Green space per resident will rise from 0.02 to 4.3 square metres. The process involved a 100-member advisory council, 1,221 survey responses, input from 74 youth, young adult and senior representatives, and four workshops with 250 participants.

The POUP enters a 60-business-day public consultation for owner objections. Officials aim for a final version by February and full approval by late 2027.