Heads of local government in Varažbin County were briefed on the three studies being prepared as the basis for the new spatial plan at a working meeting on Monday. The studies were presented by the county president, who invited local leaders to submit proposals and amendments before the studies are submitted to the County Assembly.
The meeting was also attended by the deputy county president and the president of the County Assembly. Alongside the studies, the County Assembly was presented with the destination management plan for Varažbin County.
Twenty thousand villas
The study on the needs and possibilities for housing is being carried out by Ernst & Young Consulting, with a completion deadline in October. Initial data from HEP shows that there are more than 20,000 properties in the county with an annual electricity consumption of less than 500 kilowatt hours. This indicates that they are used as occasional second homes. A further 12,000 properties consume less than 100 kilowatt hours per year.
‘We are in a period where we need to find a way to encourage owners to put these properties into use,’ said the head of the department for spatial planning, Mario Sambolec.
According to 2021 data, there were 52,020 private households in the county, with an average of 3.21 members. No less than 91.7 per cent of the population lives in owner-occupied housing. During 2024, the county recorded a positive migration balance of 5.1 per cent, with a positive trend in 18 local units.
Fragmented plots and tourism plan
The study on land use categories, carried out by Pre-con, has a completion deadline in September. The county has 68,329 hectares of agricultural land, of which 45.6 per cent is registered in ARKOD. The average plot is only 0.38 hectares, significantly less than the Croatian average of 0.84 hectares. Therefore, land consolidation is recommended as a priority. The most common crop is corn, followed by cereals, vineyards, potatoes, and orchards.
The third study covers the spatial potential of renewable energy sources. It was completed in late 2025 by the Institute for Spatial Planning of Varažbin County.
The destination management plan is set to go out for a 30-day e-consultation. The final version will then be submitted to the County Assembly, announced the director of the Tourist Board, Goran Mališ. Discussions also took place regarding the possible capital injection for the Varažbin County Guarantee Fund. The association ‘Životni ziv’, which looks after 114 stray cats, has requested support for the development of a space in Žalžabet. There, the first cat shelter in the county could be opened.
