The Territorial Urban Planning Commission of Castellón agreed on December 20 to declare of community interest, under the protection of Transitional Provision 24 of the TRLOTUP, the regularization of an existing slaughterhouse and cutting plant activity, on non-developable land in the municipality of Gaibiel (Castellón) in accordance with the technical documentation prepared by AUG-ARQUITECTOS, SLP. This declaration is decisive in adapting the facilities to current legislation and has involved a two-year process, with the intervention of different sectoral organizations. The file includes not only the Urban Planning project, but also a Landscape Integration Study and an Access Study.
The rabbit slaughterhouse and cutting plant that has been the subject of this Declaration of Community Interest for regularization is an industrial activity that began operating in Gaibiel in 1981. It has therefore been operating uninterruptedly for forty-two years, although it has now been , when the possibility of urban regularization of the facilities has been raised, under the protection of the possibility offered by the Valencian legislator to resolve this type of industrial activities on non-developable land.
From the beginning and given the inconvenience that this type of industrial activities cause in the environment, the owner of the activity considered its location outside the urban land for residential use, then ordered by an Urban Land Delimitation Project (PDSU). The lack of land classified as industrial in the planning in force at that time forced us to look for a plot that was located not too far from the urban area and met adequate conditions, due to its accessibility, provision of road access and possibility of connection to urban infrastructures.
The original facilities have been undergoing various changes and expansions, as is usual in this type of industry, either due to adaptation to new sector regulations or due to an increase in business volume.
When the business owners contacted AUG-ARQUITECTOS, SLP, the company was fully active and consolidated. It generated several dozen direct jobs and as many indirect jobs, which is why it represented a basic economic engine for this small town in the interior of Castellón, with less than 200 residents. With the favorable resolution of the Declaration of Community Interest for regularization, the door is opened to a complete legalization of all facilities and buildings and even a small expansion is planned, which will cover possible regulatory changes. The promoter, likewise, undertakes to comply with the terms of the resolution and to act in a way that will favor landscape integration, access security and, ultimately, the quality of life and development in rural areas.