Tres Cantos is a 'new community' or planned township, which was first commissioned by the dictatorship of Francisco Franco in 1971 to be established on rural land ceded by the city of Colmenar Viejo. Residential occupation began from 1982, and in 1991 it was incorporated as a separate municipality, the newest in all of Spain. Infrastructure development has continued apace, with a current (2005) 5-year development plan by local government authorities allowing for expansion of up to 60,000 inhabitants.