News
New Palmela municipal master plan published: in force from 11 August
It came out yesterday in Diário da República. The revision of the Palmela municipal master plan (PDM) was published by Notice no. 19743/2026/2 (DR no. 153/2026, 2nd series, Part H, of 10 August 2026). The notice states that the plan enters into force on the first working day after publication, that is, on 11 August 2026. The Palmela PDM Regulation puts it differently, in article 166(1): it enters into force “on the day following its publication”. The date is the same.
The proposal had been approved by the Municipal Assembly at an extraordinary session on 8 June 2026, with fourteen votes in favour, twelve against and five abstentions.
What was published
The full package came out: the resolution, the regulation with 166 articles, the Zoning Map and the Constraints Map.
The Zoning Map is split into six sheets: Soil Classification and Qualification, Municipal Ecological Structure, Risks, Heritage Values, and two Acoustic Classification maps, the Existing Conflicts Map and the Forecast Conflicts Map. The Constraints Map is divided into National Ecological Reserve, Resources, and Built Heritage, Facilities, Infrastructure and Hazardous Activities. All of them in two sheets, A and B.
Under article 94 of Decree-Law no. 80/2015, the plan is available for consultation on the Palmela municipality website and on the National Territorial Information System. That is where you confirm, map by map, how a specific plot is classified.
Three municipal plans and the AUGI map were repealed
Under article 164 of the Palmela PDM Regulation, the following are repealed:
- the Detailed Plan of Alfaçanhas, Escalrachal;
- the Detailed Plan of Bairro do Pinheiro Grande;
- the General Urbanisation Plan of Palmela.
It also repeals the AUGI map approved by the municipality in 1996.
Pending applications: two years, and you have to ask
Article 165 of the Regulation is the point that matters most to anyone with an application already filed. Prior information, prior notification and licensing procedures that were pending on the date of the municipal council resolution proposing to send the draft plan to the Municipal Assembly may be decided under the rules of the previous PDM. Two conditions apply together: the applicant has to request it expressly, and the procedure has to be completed within two years of the regulation entering into force.
Excluded are procedures whose implementation would conflict with public utility easements and restrictions shown on the Constraints Map, or with the general infrastructure shown on the Zoning Map, namely mobility network layouts, public green spaces, land for facilities and land for infrastructure.
Anyone who asks for nothing gets the new plan.
New plan now, new procedure in October
The calendar is worth a look. The Palmela PDM has been in force since today. The RJUE revision, approved by Decree-Law no. 108/2026, only enters into force on 1 October 2026, after the postponement granted by Decree-Law no. 155-B/2026, of 31 July.
Anyone filing an application in Palmela in August or September works with a new municipal plan and the previous procedure, that is, with the RJUE in the wording that applied before the Decree-Law no. 108/2026 reform. We wrote about what changes in licensing from October.
In short:
- Notice no. 19743/2026/2, DR no. 153/2026, 2nd series, Part H, of 10 August 2026.
- In force on 11 August 2026.
- Regulation with 166 articles, Zoning Map in six sheets and Constraints Map in three.
- Two acoustic classification maps now form part of the plan.
- Three municipal plans and the 1996 AUGI map repealed.
- Pending applications may follow the previous plan on express request, with two years to conclude.
Do you own land, or have a purchase or a project in Palmela? Check how it stands under the plan that is already in force. Talk to us: geral@certiamb.com · +351 910 441 470.