Zeman signed the construction law, which will speed up the approval process

Prague - President Miloš Zeman today signed a comprehensive amendment to the building law, aimed at simplifying and speeding up the permitting process. The president's spokesperson Jiří Ovčáček informed ČTK of this. The amendment will allow, among other things, the merging of land-use permits, building permits, and environmental impact assessments (EIA).

It will also be possible to build family houses or holiday cottages with just a building notification without limitations on building area, whereas previously construction was only permitted up to 150 square meters of built-up area. Notifications will not be required for greenhouses or swimming pools on a built-up plot next to a family home or cottage.

The proposal amends about forty related laws. It also impacts the law on expediting infrastructure construction, which stipulates that in built-up areas, electrical lines with a voltage of 400 kV and higher will be run above ground.

The amendment has faced criticism from environmental protection advocates, who are unhappy that it restricts public access to the permitting processes. Minister for Regional Development Karla Šlechtová (for ANO) previously stated that there is no change in the entry of so-called affected public into the proceedings under the building law. According to her, participation of the affected public is guaranteed in proceedings where environmental impact assessments take place.

Due to parliamentary amendment proposals, a provision allowing individuals specified by a special law, namely associations, to participate in land-use and building proceedings has been removed from the building law. In the Nature and Landscape Protection Act, the proposal allows them to participate in the proceedings only according to this law.

Some deputies and senators, on the other hand, criticized associations for allegedly prolonging and complicating the permitting of constructions disproportionately. Environmental protection associations claim that this is the greatest restriction of civil rights since 1989, which is in conflict with the Constitution. Moreover, they assert that the approval period will not be shortened.