Environmental requirements of the central and regional administrations tighten the local regulations that regulate the farms in Lorca
The Lorca City Council, the livestock sector and the neighborhood platforms agreed in 2020, after months of negotiation, an agreement to reconcile the residential and livestock use of the land. As a result, the Plenary unanimously approved in July of that year to prohibit the construction of farms less than 1,500 meters from town centers, medical centers and schools, less than 500 from springs and 100 from boulevards.
In the case of expansions of existing farms, the distance was reduced to 1,000 meters from the urban area. To transpose the agreement to the local urban plan, the City Council consulted supra-municipal organizations that provided mandatory regulations for the construction of farms. Among them, the regional general directorates of the Environment, Livestock, Territory, Water, Common Agricultural Policy and Roads. They have mandatory sectoral regulations on landscaping, atmosphere, noise, contaminated soil, discharges, compensation of emissions from manure management and measures on morgues. Farms in mountains are prohibited, limits in declared areas of high livestock density and authorizations are required to carry out new works in compliance with the highway law.
The Commonwealth of Canals del Taibilla and the Demarcation of State Roads also contributed their sector regulations, at the request of the City Council, which toughens the authorizations for the construction of feedlots.