Landesentwicklungsplan Saarland Teilabschnitt « Siedlung » 2006 – textliche und zeichnerische Festlegungen mit Begründung/Erläuterung

The purpose of Saarland's "Settlements" regional development plan is to coordinate different land use claims. These claims on the land need to be weighed up against each other with regard to their supra-local relevance and certain specific land use functions need to be secured through regional planning. To fulfil this task, Saarland's "Settlements" regional development plan defines goals and principles that relate to or have a bearing on settlement structure development. In addition to the written provisions on this subject, a graphic map of the "Settlements" regional development plan also contains provisions in graphic form. Saarland's "Settlements" regional development plan represents a state-wide spatial development plan, which is aimed at ensuring the sustainability and environmental soundness of the state's future settlement development.

Until well into the 1990s coping with increased demand for residential building land due to immigration and the baby boom years was considered as the main challenge facing regional planners in Saarland. From the middle of the 1990 onwards, however, this urban pressure started to ease. The demographic situation was changing: aging and a declining population were impacting demand, so that new approaches to these dynamics of contraction became necessary. In addition globalisation was causing small-scale divergences in spatial development. Against this background, in 2006, Saarland's "Settlements" regional development plan came into force, which tackles these changed framework conditions.

The coordination as part of the regional planning process of all the land use claims and the defining settlement structure guidelines are oriented towards prescribed overriding principles in Saarland's regional planning. These include the principles of equivalence, sustainability and decentralised concentration. Furthermore regional planning has to aim towards the principle of the compact settlement structure of short distances and adapt to the requirements of demographic change.
The main component of Saarland's 2006 "Settlements" regional development plan is the structure requirements in spatial planning.  These are expressed as goals or principles and accordingly have various binding effects. The settlement structure requirements in the "Settlements" regional development plan include provisions on :

• central places,
• settlement axes in spatial planning
• spatial categories and
• residential settlements.

Furthermore target figures for housing demand goals and principles for the location, expansion and modification of large-scale retail facilities are also defined. The goals and principles set out in the regional development are to be respected (goals) or taken into account (principles) in urban land use planning at municipal level.

The provisions on central places are intended to guarantee the supply of goods and services to the population and spatially concentrate settlement development. Settlement axes in spatial planning provide for settlement development along significant transport axes. The central place and settlement axes provisions serve the carrying capacity and capacity utilisation of the existing infrastructure. The spatial category provisions allow the specific targeting of structurally homogeneous or similar characterised spaces within the state. Further goals and principles concerning residential development target a decentralised settlement structure, which contribute in turn to the protection of open spaces, the protection of ecological functions as well as traffic minimisation or reduction. Binding, quantitative targets for housing demand guarantee careful use of natural resources and thanks to the goals and principles on large-scale retail facilities a balanced and demand-based retail infrastructure is provided, which is oriented towards the central place-based classification of districts.

The "Settlements" regional development plan is harmonised with the German, French and Luxembourg regions bordering Saarland and their planning. In addition there is also cooperation on the cross-border coordination of settlement structure development, that is coordination of the essential spatial planning guidelines.

This cooperation takes place through the Saarland-Lorraine-Luxembourg-Trier/Western Palatinate Regional Commission and the interregional SaarLorLux Summit, a political entity consisting of the Prime Ministers and Presidents of the member States, Regions and Departments. In addition municipal authorities, economic actors and representatives of civil society are also consulted, to level out the differences that exist between the economic, social and legal systems in a cross-border context through internal cooperation. During the drawing up of the "Settlements" section of the regional development plan the "SaarLorLux-Plus" spatial development concept and the "Future Vision 2020“ of the 7th SaarLorLux Summit Conference in 2003 formed a joint strategic basis for inter-regional  and cross-border collaboration. Furthermore, the Interreg Programmes already implemented are particularly noteworthy, as among other things they allowed the creation of the "SaarLorLux area" to synchronise the basic cross-border planning arrangements. Also Saarland's formal "settlements" regional development plan, by providing for "action spaces" creates a basis for the establishment of cross-border regional managements and in doing so facilitates informal approaches to spatial or regional development.