Section 22 (3) of the Physical Planning Act, emphasizes that no development can take place unless the developer complies with the requirements of the approved plan. Furthermore, Section 33 of the same Act says development can only be carried out upon obtaining permission from the physical planning committee of the area in which the development will take place.
In the event that the requisite permission is not obtained or the requirements within the permit are not complied with, the development is null and void and the developer must restore the land to its natural state before the development occurred. The growth of Mbarara city is characterized by reclassification of land use especially in areas of Biharwe, Kakiika and Nyakayojo that were previously more of a rural setting from rural to urban through spatial expansion by annexing the adjacent townships and rural areas, converting farmlands and villages into urban areas.
But generally in the whole of Mbarara city there is already an emerging real estate market for plots/acres of land for people entering to work and settle here, apartments for those that work within but are renting, hotel and accommodation business, industrial, storage and warehouse facilities. Mbarara City has already a physical development plan 2018-2040, and as already noted any development carried out without authority of the physical planning committee of an area is illegal, null and void and has to be demolished.
What does this mean? It means that land use in Mbarara city is already regulated under the physical development plan to determine what and how developments will occur, when and where they will occur. This is the reason that before acquiring land, embarking on any development in Mbarara city you are well versed with the city’s physical development plan.
Unfortunately this requirement remains shelved to many people dealing in land markets (buyers and sellers), a future problem likely to affect the real estate market. For example you may find you have bought or built land in an environmentally sensitive area like a wetland, in a river catchment like on river Rwizi where approvals are done subject to an environmental impact assessment and failure to do this you will have your development demolished not only by city authorities but also NEMA.Mbarara city Clerk Mr Theo Tibihika explains that Mbarara city physical plan is intended to create an orderly city, rational development of land to create sustainable human settlements that accommodate a variety of land uses to meet the needs of the people that live who work and visitors in Mbarara city.“Physical development plan is not to stop or make life difficult for developers or home builders but to create order and guide development.
While houses may be built for growing population, they cannot be built in a swamp, or in a proposed area for road construction or an area that endangers the health and safety of the occupants or other members of the public, “explains Mr Tibihika before commending some real estate managers for having come out to honestly explain to clients about the city’s physical development plan.
As our mission, At Amity Realtors we remain committed to see your land acquisition and development in Mbarara city take shape with no major challenges like demolition and conflict with law and regulations guiding the city development. For example a snap shot at Mbarara city development plan; you will realize that in all the two divisions, Mbarara city north and city south, city authorities have zoned land to include road infrastructure, housing estates, residential, industrial and commercial areas, environmental protection zones, for institutions like health and education, recreation and other infrastructural developments like sewer lagoon, bus terminal, cemetery, bus terminal and markets.Development planning is a control tool used in cities or municipalities to control and direct development of property.
It does so by dividing urban land use into sections permitting particular land uses on specific sites to shape the layout and directing development of cities and towns. This helps to avoid mixing incompatible land uses.Whereas development planning restricts rights of owners of land as they otherwise would like to use it but this facilitates planned development and a functional real estate market.For example you may build a home in an area that has been planned for industrial or commercial use, it may in future be demolished but even though it might not be demolished it poses a health risk to have a residential home in an industrial zone because of air pollution which may be hazardous to you and your people.More about Mbarara city development plan refer to the map below!