Cahecho wins the 2026 Cantabria Town Award with 160,000 euros.

The Official Gazette of Cantabria publishes today, Thursday 13 August 2026, in issue 155, the Resolution granting the 2026 Cantabria Village Award to the village of Cahecho, in the municipality of Cabezón de Liébana, with a grant of €160,000. The decision, adopted by the Regional Ministry of Public Works, Housing, Land Management and Environment and signed in Santander on 6 August by the Regional Minister Roberto Media Sainz, also recognises runner-up prizes of €20,000 for Escalante and Güemes. The ruling appears in the Grants and Subsidies section under the official reference CVE-2026-6440.

The award is governed by Order OBR/2/2017, of 24 April, approving its regulating rules, published in the official gazette on 2 May 2017, and by the call for this edition, approved by resolution of the Regional Minister on 9 March 2026 and announced in the BOC on 13 March. The jury agreed on 23 June 2026 to propose Cahecho as the winner after evaluating the seven applications submitted; the proposal was adopted on 8 July by the Directorate General for Public Works and has a prior favourable fiscal report dated 6 August. The award is made under Article 9.1 of Law of Cantabria 10/2006, of 17 July, on Cantabria Grants.

An award for the rural environment

The aim of the award is to promote and support the recovery, improvement and maintenance of the villages of Cantabria, in defence of traditional values, the natural and ecological environment, the historical, cultural and artistic heritage and the quality of life of citizens, as set out in the jury’s agreement. In the case of Cahecho, the jury considered that it was the application that best suited these purposes because of the quality of the proposal submitted and the involvement of the municipality and residents in maintaining and improving their village.

Winner and runner-up prizes of the edition

• Cahecho (Cabezón de Liébana Town Council): 2026 Cantabria Village Award, with a grant of €160,000.
• Escalante (Escalante Town Council): runner-up prize of €20,000 for the second-best assessment, which appreciated the soundness, quality and coherence of the actions carried out to improve and enhance its rural environment.
• Güemes, in the municipality of Bareyo (Güemes Neighbourhood Council): runner-up prize of €20,000 for the third-best assessment, highlighting its commitment to the conservation and recovery of heritage as an essential element for the development and identity of the rural environment.

The total cost of the awards amounts to EUR 200,000, financed from budget item 04.08.453A.761 of the General Budgets of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria for the year 2026. The beneficiary town councils must previously justify, before payment, the financing of the action that is the subject of the award, in accordance with Article 9 of Order OBR/2/2017.

Appeals

The resolution exhausts the administrative route. Against it, an administrative appeal may be lodged within two months before the Administrative Litigation Division of the High Court of Justice of Cantabria, or an optional motion for reconsideration may be filed with the Regional Minister for Public Works, Housing, Territorial Planning and the Environment within one month from the day following its publication in the official bulletin.

With this edition, the Cantabrian Executive injects EUR 200,000 into three rural localities to finance specific projects for the recovery and enhancement of their surroundings, providing direct support for the maintenance of heritage and the quality of life in the towns of Cantabria.

Source: Official Bulletin of Cantabria, No. 155, of 13 August 2026, Subsidies and Aid section, pp. 37084-37085 (official reference: CVE-2026-6440).