He Pamplona City Hall has launched an Administrative Efficiency Plan reduce processing times in the field of town planning with the aim of speed up the deadlines for issuing building permits and responsible statements.
The plan has been operational since June and It has an expected duration of 18 monthsuntil December 2025, reported Abaurrea, who said that for its design a diagnosis was prepared and the good practices implemented in cities like Palma de Mallorca, Madrid, Cordoba or Seville were taken as a reference.
The origin of this measure, he commented, is on the “alarm” what happens when the current government team enters into a “complex situation” in the processing of administrative authorizations” and the lack of action in this matter, producing a “deterioration” of the service.
As detailed by the municipal council, the situation is caused by an accumulation of files which has led to delays in the resolution of licenses, excess of manual administrative steps in various procedures this could be simplified through digitalized procedures and a lack of resources in the subsequent control phase which could affect the quality of the works in the medium and long term.
He workload index as of February 1, 2024, they said, was 687, significantly higher than the 506 on February 1, 2023 and the 373 on February 1, 2022. This, added to the fact that the average number of cases processed per year has remained relatively constant, reflects a gradual deterioration, they explained.
Among the possible causes, they mentioned the lack of foresight in the provision of technical personnel, the time needed to adequately train and train new recruits, as well as the stabilization of the process and the lack of review of internal procedures.
The first measures implemented, Abaurrea emphasized, were hire architects and coverage of empty technical positions for an initial period of 6 months although this period “may be extended”.
Functions have also been redistributed internally and an architects’ scholarship was created by trust in the Historical Center of Pamplona which will begin activity in the coming weeks so that members can support the preparation of pre-reports for responsible declarations and speed up the procedures.
Likewise, Abaurrea indicated, they intend to activate selective tests to have a hiring list to cover the injured since the slowness of these substitutions is “one of the most serious problems” that have been observed. In addition, in December the Technical Architects Competition will take place.
Another area of improvement, he noted, is process modernization and they anticipate that digitalization and automation of procedures will be completed for December 2025.
One will be implemented telematic appointment system scheduled to launch in January, web accessibility has been improved with transcription of all available procedures and a frequently asked questions section is under development.
Following the evaluation, administrative procedures were reviewed, Unnecessary or simplified external and internal reports have been removedmodels have been activated which give consistency to the management of files and guides and manuals have been created.
Concerning regulations, work is underway the unification of a technical criteria guide and legal, ensuring that procedures comply with resolutions and case law and that a regular process of reviewing and updating planning regulations is established to avoid errors in applications and reduce possible requirements.
