The Plan General de Ordenación Municipal (PGOM) has received final approval from Marbella Town Council, marking a significant milestone in the renewal of the municipality’s urban planning framework.
The approval, granted by the Plenary of Marbella Town Council on Friday, 18 September 2026, brings to an end a process initiated following the annulment of the 2010 PGOU and the subsequent reinstatement of the 1986 PGOU.
The new planning framework is being developed in accordance with Law 7/2021 (LISTA), which structures municipal urban planning through two principal instruments: the Plan General de Ordenación Municipal (PGOM), which establishes the general territorial and urban planning framework, and the Plan de Ordenación Urbana (POU), which establishes the detailed urban planning framework for the existing city.
Final approval of the PGOM
With the final approval of the PGOM, Marbella becomes the first municipality in Andalusia to approve a PGOM adapted to the LISTA.
The new PGOM establishes the general framework for Marbella’s future territorial and urban development. Among other measures, Marbella Town Council has highlighted the incorporation of land into the new urban model, provisions relating to protected housing, and the greater legal certainty that the new planning framework is intended to provide for numerous properties affected by the successive changes to Marbella’s urban planning regulations.
However, the final approval of the PGOM does not mean that the plan enters into force immediately.
Under its Urban Planning Regulations, the PGOM will enter into force on the day following the publication of the final approval resolution and the applicable urban planning regulations in the corresponding Official Gazette.
As of 28 September 2026, this official publication is still pending. Consequently, the new PGOM has not yet become fully effective.
The POU remains to be completed
The approval of the PGOM does not, by itself, complete the renewal of Marbella’s urban planning framework.
The second instrument established under the LISTA, the Plan de Ordenación Urbana (POU), remains under preparation. While the PGOM establishes the municipality’s general planning framework, the POU will provide the detailed urban planning framework for the existing built-up area.
The POU procedure has continued to progress during 2026. One of the key developments since the previous stages of the process was the issuance, in February 2026, of the Scope Document for the Strategic Environmental Study.
The processing and subsequent final approval of the POU will therefore still be required before Marbella’s new urban planning framework can be considered fully completed.
What happens next?
The next significant milestone for the PGOM will be its publication in the corresponding Official Gazette, after which the plan will enter into force in accordance with its regulations.
At the same time, the processing of the POU will continue, with its subsequent approval forming the remaining part of Marbella’s new planning framework.
The approval of the PGOM represents an important step in providing Marbella with a planning framework adapted to the current LISTA legislation. For property owners, buyers, investors and real estate professionals, the forthcoming entry into force of the PGOM and the continued development of the POU will therefore remain important developments to monitor.
Further updates will be provided as the official publication of the PGOM takes place and the POU progresses through its remaining stages.
