The Government of Cantabria declares the Olucas Surf Center of Regional Interest

The Governing Council of Cantabria has declared the Singular Project of Regional Interest (PSIR) proposal Olucas Surf Center to be of Regional Interest, a sports establishment with hotel accommodation located in Villaverde de Pontones, in the municipality of Ribamontán al Monte. The agreement was adopted in the ordinary session of October 15, 2026, and is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC) no. 203, of October 22, 2026, section 7.5, with the official reference CVE-2026-8207. The resolution ordering its publication was signed by the general secretary of Development, Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment, Ana Belén Ruiz San Millán, in Santander on October 16.

A singular project under the LOTUCA

The declaration is processed in accordance with Article 22 of the Cantabria Law 5/2022, of July 15, on Territorial Planning and Urbanism (LOTUCA), which regulates Singular Projects of Regional Interest as territorial planning instruments for facilities and productive, tertiary, tourist, sports, or large-scale equipment uses that transcend the municipal scope due to their economic impact, magnitude, or singular characteristics. The regulation allows them to be implemented on any class of land, regardless of its urban classification, while preserving land with protected values.

The initiative is promoted by Olucas Cantabria S.L., represented by Ignacio Martínez-Peñalver Gómez, who submitted the initial application on June 26, 2026. The scope is limited to the administrative boundaries of Ribamontán al Monte, specifically the village of Villaverde de Pontones. The agreement orders the resolution to be forwarded to the City Council of Ribamontán al Monte, to Olucas Surf Center S.L., to the General Directorate of Urbanism and Territorial Planning, and to the General Secretariat of Development; it is signed as secretary of the Council by María Isabel Urrutia de los Mozos.

Favorable reports from Sports and Tourism

The file accumulates favorable sectoral pronouncements. The General Directorate of Sports issued a favorable report due to the “relevance and sporting interest” of the project and for contributing to the development, technical improvement, and consolidation of surfing in Cantabria. The General Directorate of Tourism and Hospitality supports it as a new tourist asset decoupled from seasonality and sea conditions, with the following effects:

• Decongest the use of Cantabrian beaches during high season.
• Allow the practice of surfing throughout the year.
• Expand demand and improve safety on the beaches.
• Act as a driving element for surf-related tourism.
• Generate synergy with Ribamontán al Mar, a neighboring municipality with a Tourism Sustainability Plan and a world-renowned destination.

The developer’s report emphasizes Cantabria’s “geographical opportunity,” citing a consolidated surfing community and a central position in the northern peninsular arc, and warns that Madrid, La Nucía, and Lisbon are already building wave pools while the north lacks equivalent developments.

Municipal conditions on water and access

The City Council of Ribamontán al Monte responded on August 20, 2026, recognizing elements of supra-local interest—uniqueness of the infrastructure, specialization in surfing, planned investment, job creation, deseasonalization, and sports training—but limited its favorable assessment to the appropriateness of continuing the processing, which does not equate to an advance approval of the PSIR. Furthermore, it notes an “initial inadequacy” of the municipal planning and demands two prior guarantees:

• Sufficiency of the hydraulic and sanitation infrastructures for current and future demand.
• An independent access point that avoids traffic passing through the center of Villaverde de Pontones, with the conformity of the Administration in charge of the road.

The case calendar includes the hearing initiated on June 29, the reports from Sports and Tourism received on July 8, the report from the General Directorate of Culture and Historical Heritage on September 18, the appearance of Ecologistas en Acción Cantabria on September 21, the procedure in the Parliamentary Commission on September 24, the hearing of the Council for Territorial Planning and Urbanism (COTU) on September 25, and the knowledge by the Plenary of the Parliament of Cantabria on October 13.

The impact of the decision

The declaration of Regional Interest is the step that enables the developer to draft and process the PSIR as its own planning instrument, bypassing the lack of fit within the current municipal planning. The agreement conditions the final extension and delimitation of the project to the environmental, sectoral, and functional constraints that arise during processing, such that the regional approval opens the administrative path but does not finalize the design of a facility intended to expand the sports tourism offer of the region.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 203, of October 22, 2026, section 7.5 (Miscellaneous), pp. 54482-54487 (official reference: CVE-2026-8207).