Modification of the Cáceres PGOU approved to provide access to the CIIAE

The Junta de Extremadura has definitively approved the specific modification of the General Municipal Plan (PGM) of Cáceres, which reorganizes the general road system of developable land sector 1.08 and its connection with the N-521 highway, in order to provide access to the Iberian Center for Energy Storage Research (CIIAE). This is done through the Resolution of October 26, 2026, by the Councilor for Infrastructure, Transport, and Housing, Francisco José Ramírez González, published in the Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE) number 213, corresponding to Thursday, November 5, 2026 (official reference 2026062762).

The regional jurisdiction is justified because Cáceres does not have a PGM adapted to Law 11/2018, of December 21, on Sustainable Territorial and Urban Planning of Extremadura (LOTUS). Section 3.f) of the second transitional provision, as worded by Decree-law 5/2025, of September 18, and article 45.2.e of the LOTUS are applied, as this is a modification affecting the designation of general urban systems in a center of territorial relevance.

The councilor resolves in accordance with article 5.2.h) of Decree 50/2016, of April 26, and the competencies of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, and Housing established by the President’s Decree 16/2023, of July 20. The Urban Planning and Territorial Organization Commission of Extremadura issued a favorable report on the modification in its session on January 30, 2025.

What is being modified

The action adapts the layout of the unexecuted general road system of sector 1.08 and its connection with the N-521 via its side road. According to the resolution, the new organization simplifies the layout by relying on the existing reality and improves mobility in the area.

• Developable land sector 1.08 and actions VG-S.1.08-1 and 2, for connection with the N-521, which increase their surface area by 2,971 m² to accommodate a non-motorized mobility network.
• Action QG-1.02 “Equipment in the University area,” assigned to sector 1.06: maintains its surface area but is divided into QG-1.02.1 and QG-1.02.2.
• The planning files for sectors S.1.06, S.1.07, S.1.08, S.1.10, and S.5.01.

Sectoral reports and constraints

The approval is based on a set of favorable reports, several of which include express conditions:

• The General Directorate of Sustainability communicated on October 28, 2024, that it is not necessary to subject the modification to a strategic environmental assessment.
• The Nature Conservation and Protected Areas Service issued a favorable report on October 17, 2024: part of the area is within the SPA “Llanos de Cáceres y Sierra de Fuentes”, in a general use zone of the PRUG, and is compatible with the Conservation Plan for the Bonelli’s Eagle Habitat.
• The State Roads Demarcation in Extremadura reported favorably on September 11, 2024, with the condition of formalizing the transfer of the affected section of the lateral roadway of the N-521 to the City Council before approving the Execution Program or, failing that, the Urbanization Project.
• The Tagus Hydrographic Confederation, in a report dated July 22, 2024, warns that the action is located less than 100 meters from the bed of the Valhondo stream and about 80 meters from an unnamed stream, therefore requiring authorization for the police zone.

The urban weight of the area

The file for sector S.1.08 is left with a gross area of 698,037 m² and a net area of 558,259 m², a density of 35 dwellings per hectare and 1,216 indicative dwellings, with 1,767 public parking spaces and a total lucrative buildability of 353,406 m², of which 189,194 m² are tertiary. The assigned general systems total 172,202 m² and the general road network VG-S.1.08-1 and 2 reaches 139,778 m². The planning of the area is subject to a prior binding report from the Ministry of Environment due to its location in an SPA zone.

The development of sector S.1.10, with 2,906 dwellings, is linked to the effective execution of the connection with the general road system at its southern boundary, while the file for S.5.01, for equipment use and assigned to the University, reserves 41,808 m² for general systems. The modification was deposited in the Single Registry of Urbanism and Territorial Planning of Extremadura on October 27, 2026, under registration number CC/042/2026.

The resolution is of a regulatory nature and is also published on the electronic headquarters of the Junta, with the urban regulations as Annex I, an executive summary as Annex II, and the registration certification as Annex III. A contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against it before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Extremadura within two months from the day following its publication in the DOE.

The agreement unlocks road access to the CIIAE, a scientific facility destined to be a benchmark in energy storage research, and regulates residential growth in southwest Cáceres, where sectors 1.06, 1.07, 1.08, and 1.10 account for thousands of planned homes and are now subject to new land transfer and environmental protection conditions.

Source: Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE), no. 213, November 5, 2026, section I (official reference: 2026062762).