Planprocess
The planprocess is the formal sequence from the first enquiry until a detaljplan has gained laga kraft (legal force), governed by chapter 5 of the plan- och bygglagen (PBL), the Swedish planning and building act.
The process normally starts with a planbesked, a formal planning notice: the municipality must say yes or no to starting the planning work within four months. If the municipality says yes, it chooses between two main tracks. The standardförfarande (standard procedure) is used when the proposal is compatible with the översiktsplan and with the länsstyrelsen's granskningsyttrande on it, is not of significant public interest, and is not expected to have a significant environmental impact (PBL chapter 5, section 7). If one of these conditions is missing, the utökade förfarandet (extended procedure) is used, which requires an additional samrådsredogörelse and longer deadlines. Two rarer variants exist: a begränsat standardförfarande, used when the group of affected parties is small and everyone, including the länsstyrelsen and the lantmäterimyndigheten, approves the proposal already during the samråd, and a samordnat förfarande, which merges the PBL process with a parallel permit under the miljöbalken, the väglagen or the railway act to avoid duplicate case handling.
Once the planförslag has been drawn up, the municipality gathers views in a samråd (consultation), where landowners, tenants, the länsstyrelsen and other affected parties can comment. The samråd period is set by law only in the utökat förfarande (at least three weeks); in the standardförfarande the municipality decides the length itself. Then follows the granskning (review), a new and final round in which the proposal, now revised after the samråd, is put on display again. The granskning period is at least two weeks in the standardförfarande, and at least three weeks, or at least 30 days in the case of significant environmental impact, in the utökat förfarande (PBL chapter 5, section 18). Only those who have submitted written views during the samråd or the granskning may later appeal against the decision.
When the granskning period has ended, the kommunfullmäktige adopts the plan (simpler cases can be delegated to the kommunstyrelsen or the byggnadsnämnden). The appeal deadline is three weeks from the announcement on the municipality's notice board, and an appeal goes to the mark- och miljödomstolen, with the option of a further appeal to the Mark- och miljööverdomstolen. The plan gains laga kraft at the earliest three weeks after the announcement, provided that no one has appealed and that the länsstyrelsen does not itself choose to review the decision. If the plan is appealed, laga kraft waits until the appeal has been finally decided.
Compared with a Norwegian reguleringsplan, there are two structural differences. The Swedish process has two separate consultation rounds, samråd and granskning, while the Norwegian process from planinitiativ has one combined public review of at least six weeks after the plan proposal has been drawn up. And a Norwegian reguleringsplan can only be appealed to Statsforvalteren, an administrative body, while a Swedish detaljplan is always appealed to a court, the mark- och miljödomstolen.
There are no official statistics for how long the whole process takes, but the statutory deadlines set a floor. A standardförfarande without an appeal rarely takes less than six months from a finished planförslag to laga kraft, when samråd, granskning, antagande and the appeal deadline are added together, and often one to one and a half years counted from the planbesked. An utökat förfarande, with longer statutory deadlines and a higher likelihood of an appeal to court, typically stretches to between one and a half and three years.
From Placepoint's glossary: Planprocess
More information: Riksdagen: Plan- och bygglag (2010:900), Boverket: Val av förfarande, Boverket: Guide för detaljplaneprocessen, Sveriges Domstolar: Överklaga plan- och byggbeslut
English: The statutory procedure for adopting a Swedish detaljplan, from planning notice to legal force.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between standardförfarande and utökat förfarande?
The standardförfarande is used when the plan proposal matches the översiktsplan and the länsstyrelsen's granskningsyttrande, is not of significant public interest and is not expected to have a significant environmental impact. If one of these conditions is missing, the municipality must use the utökade förfarandet, which has longer statutory deadlines and requires a separate samrådsredogörelse.
What is the difference between samråd and granskning?
The samråd is the first round, where the municipality gathers views early in the work on the plan proposal. The granskning is the last round before adoption, where the revised proposal is put on display again, and only written views from this round or from the samråd give a right of appeal later.
Who can appeal against an adopted detaljplan?
Only those who are affected and have submitted written views during the samråd or the granskning, unless the appeal concerns a procedural error. The appeal is sent to the municipality, which forwards it to the mark- och miljödomstolen.
How long does a planprocess take?
The law sets no overall deadline, only minimum deadlines for each step. In practice, a standardförfarande without an appeal often takes one to one and a half years from planbesked to laga kraft; an utökat förfarande, with more steps and a higher likelihood of appeal, more often stretches to between one and a half and three years.
What is the difference between the Swedish and the Norwegian planning process?
The Swedish process has two separate consultation rounds, samråd and granskning, while the Norwegian reguleringsplan process has one combined public review. And a Swedish detaljplan is appealed to a court, the mark- och miljödomstolen, while a Norwegian reguleringsplan can only be appealed to Statsforvalteren.