Minister appoints council for Eastfjords coastal planning

Iceland’s minister for social affairs and housing, Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson, has appointed a regional council for coastal planning in the Eastfjords, mbl.is reported.

The council’s term will run until after the next parliamentary election. Guðjón Bragason will chair it, with Albertína Friðbjörg Elíasdóttir as the chair’s alternate representative.

The council will also include representatives of neighbouring municipalities, the ministries of infrastructure, industry, and environment, energy and climate, and the Association of Local Authorities in Iceland. The Housing, Construction and Planning Authority will advise the council and provide meeting facilities and staff support.

The coastal plan for the Eastfjords was approved by the infrastructure minister in March 2023. The council will consider issues referred to it by the minister and, where applicable, by the authority.

If the plan needs to be revised or amended under Article 14 of the Act on Planning of Marine and Coastal Areas, the minister is to ask the council to review it or prepare a proposal for changes.