Planning is teamwork
All land use is carefully planned in Finland. The land use planning process has three levels: it starts from national land use objectives set by the ministries and progresses to generalised regional land use plans and local master plans, with local detailed plans as the final level.
Land use planning in Metsähallitus is directed by the land use objectives set by the Government, regional land use plans prepared by the regional councils, and local master plans produced by cities and municipalities. Metsähallitus participates in the preparation of regional land use plans and local master plans through its statements and proposals with the aim of reconciling its own planning objectives with these plans.
The local detailed plans and detailed shore plans for state-owned lands are prepared by Metsähallitus in cooperation with municipalities and cities. A detailed local plan contains more specific stipulations than a regional land use plan or a local master plan; for example, it determines the sites on which building is allowed and the permitted building volumes.
Metsähallitus plans state-owned areas for tourism
Metsähallitus, together with municipalities and cities, plans state-owned land as beach and residential plots as well as holiday and business lots for holiday centres. Metsähallitus has pre-planned areas in several tourism centres. They are planned for accommodation, restaurants and other services tourists may need.
There are also other sites in addition to the fell sites, such as beach sites for holiday villages or private holiday homes.
Metsähallitus also has several master plan areas of varying sizes. Before sales and implementation, a local detailed plan is usually drafted for the area to take the customer’s needs and wishes into account.