Canillo Approves Urban Plan Updates to Protect Heritage and Allow Limited Homes

The Canillo parish council has approved the latest modifications to its Parish Urban Planning and Organisation Plan (POUP), originally adopted in 2023, introducing measures to protect heritage sites while offering targeted flexibility for development.

A key change allows up to three single-family homes in the monumental protection area around the Romanesque church of Sant Joan de Caselles. These would sit along the access road, close to existing built-up zones, to ensure visual harmony with the temple. The updates follow recent discussions with the culture minister, as noted by Canillo's senior councillor, Jordi Alcobé.

The plan imposes strict limits on solar installations. Photovoltaic panels are fully banned in the historic cores of parish villages, including on vertical walls. Across the entire parish territory, solar farms are prohibited outright. Alcobé argued this preserves the landscape, citing the Sispony solar park as an undesirable "mirror in a valley" that detracts from the area's image.

Other adjustments ease rules for rural structures and small plots. Farm buildings in ruins can now be rebuilt and relocated freely within the same meadow or valley. In historic village centres, undeveloped lots under 100 square metres can be fully built up, without the previous 50% open-space requirement. Larger plots, such as 200 square metres, would allow full occupation of the first 100 square metres plus half of the remainder.

Alcobé described these as the sixth set of tweaks since 2023, finalising an ongoing process after consultations with affected residents. The changes maintain core principles of quality over quantity, avoiding mass development or mismatched construction, he said, while adapting to practical needs without altering height, occupancy, or building standards.

The council has granted provisional approval; the technical urban planning commission must now endorse the document before final ratification.

Alcobé also welcomed the government's proposed law on private promotion of affordable housing, praising its aim to tackle residential shortages. Canillo's legal and technical teams are reviewing it to check for any impact on local urban planning powers.