Arteixo approves the Bath House service and its regulations.

The Plenary of the City Council of Arteixo, in an ordinary session held on Thursday 30 July 2026, initially approved the establishment of the municipal service «Casa de Baños de Arteixo» and its regulations, after the building rehabilitation works were completed under an agreement financed with European Union–NextGenerationEU funds. The agreement was published in the Official Bulletin of the Province of A Coruña number 153, of 13 August 2026, through notice 2026/5286. With its launch, the local residents will have a public thermal and tourist facility in the historic Arteixo Spa.

The file, with number 2026/G013/000002, was processed through the municipal General Secretariat based on a mayoral proposal signed by José Carlos Calvelo Martínez, mayor of Arteixo, and received a report from the Plenary’s Informative Commission for General Affairs at its session on Monday 27 July 2026. On 27 February 2025, the agreement between the Tourism Agency of Galicia and the City Council of Arteixo was signed to execute the basic and execution project for the rehabilitation of the bath house, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan financed by the European Union–NextGenerationEU; under its auspices, the City Council tendered and awarded the works contract, now completed.

A thermal facility for leisure use

The regulation, which appears as an annex to the agreement, defines the Casa de Baños de Arteixo as a thermal facility for leisure use intended for the use of thermal waters for recreational and wellness purposes, from a sustainable tourism perspective. The rule is based on Law 7/1985, of 2 April, regulating the bases of local government, and on Law 8/2019, of 23 December, regulating the leisure use of thermal waters in Galicia. The service will include:

• Access to thermal pools for leisure use.
• Hygiene and changing room services.
• Guided activities.

The City Council may establish time slots reserved for specific groups and an advance booking system to guarantee capacity, and access will require payment of the public fee and proof of identity.

Indirect management through a services contract

The Plenary declared that the activity is assumed by the City Council as its own, pursuant to Article 312 of Law 9/2017, of 8 November, on Public Sector Contracts, and determined as the form of provision indirect management through a services contract with direct provisions to citizens. The City Council will retain ownership of the facilities and the powers of regulation, inspection, control and direction of the service, without transferring significant operational risk to the contractor. The file and the regulations are now submitted to public information and a hearing for interested parties for a period of thirty working days, by means of a notice in the BOP, on the municipal notice board and on the electronic site; if no claims are submitted, the agreement shall be deemed definitively adopted and the full text of the regulations shall be published.

Rights, duties and sanctions regime

The text regulates users’ rights — equal access, information, use under conditions of safety and hygiene, and a channel for complaints and suggestions — and their duties, including paying the public fee and complying with the rules of use. The manager must display in a visible place the data on the thermal waters, inform about contraindications of recreational use and prohibit the offer of therapeutic services. Infractions are classified into three degrees:

• Very serious: fine of €1,500 to €3,000 and loss of user status for 12 to 24 months.
• Serious: fine of €750 to €1,500 and loss of user status for 3 to 12 months.
• Minor: fine of up to €750.

Public fees will be set by the Local Government Board, so that they cover at least the cost of the service, although they may be reduced for social reasons or reasons of public interest. The agreement is signed by the acting mayor, José María Sánchez Novo, by delegation through decree number 2065, of 31 July 2026.

A facility that recovers the thermal heritage

With the Bath House, Arteixo recovers for its residents a reference heritage and thermal facility and adds a new tourist attraction to the municipality, betting on health, healthy leisure and economic dynamisation around thermalism. Once the administrative procedures are completed and the regulations are definitively approved, the service will open under private management and municipal control, with a public interest qualified by the active recovery of historical heritage and sustainable tourism promotion.

Source: BOP of A Coruña (Official Bulletin of the Province of A Coruña), No. 153, 13 August 2026, Local Administration section, pp. 1-6 (official reference: notice 2026/5286).