1.4 Development of the Regional Plan
A regional planning committee, composed of two representatives from each municipality in East Iceland and one representative from the East Iceland Tourism Association, has overseen the development of the regional plan. Austurbrú has managed the project on behalf of SSA.
The regional planning committee introduced the regional plan proposal and environmental assessment report in March 2022, in accordance with paragraph 2, Article 23 of the Planning Act and Articles 12 and 14 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act.9
The regional plan proposal was published on the Austurbrú website, and a news article was published on the websites of each municipality in the region and on social media. Residents were encouraged to review the regional plan proposal and submit comments and viewpoints to the regional planning committee. Simultaneously, the proposal was sent to statutory reviewers and numerous stakeholders (see the list at the end of the document) with a request for feedback within four weeks. The proposal was also sent to municipal councils for discussion.
After the consultation period ended, the feedback and comments were processed, and some adjustments made to the proposal. Subsequently, the regional planning committee and then the municipal councils submitted the regional plan proposal for review by the Planning Agency for advertisement.
The agency provided feedback on the proposal in June 2022, without objections to its advertisement. The proposal was advertised on July 7, 2022, with a comment period until August 20. The regional planning committee and municipal councils addressed the received comments and approved the regional plan in September 2022, sending it to the Planning Agency for confirmation.