Assessment of the effectiveness of land consolidation works, as illustrated with the case of Bielcza village

Abstract

Land consolidation is a process consisting in the designation of new cadastral plots with a differ- ent shape compared to the original ones, in order to reduce the number of small and scattered plots of land that make up a farm, and to increase the average size of homesteads. Within the scope of a land consolidation project, works related to post-consolidation land development are also carried out, which mainly include the creation of a functional network of access roads to agricultural and forest land, and the implementation of tasks, which impact the regulation of hydrographic conditions within the area covered by the consolidation, and which affect land reclamation. Having understood the opportunities as well as threats related to the construction of the high- way, the Self-government of the Małopolska region (Małopolskie Voivodship) initiated activities related to the implementation of the first infrastructural consolidations in Poland in relation to the proposed highway-adjoining areas. On September 21, 2005, an agreement was signed with the General Directorate for National Roads and Highways in Warsaw [Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad w Warszawie], pertaining to cooperation regarding the consolidation of land related to the Kraków-Tarnów section of the A4 highway, currently under construction. Infrastructural consolidation, otherwise known as highway-related land consolidation, is a pro- cedure that consists in ordering the space adjacent to the highway construction area, as well as to another investment project in linear form. The purpose of the present article is to investigate the effectiveness of land consolidation works in connection with the construction of the highway, as il- lustrated with the example of a part of the village of Bielcza, in Borzęcin municipality, Brest district.