The Community approves the new layout of the Vereda de los Leñeros

The Regional Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Interior of the Community of Madrid has approved the route modification of the “Vereda de los Leñeros” livestock path within the municipality of Madrid, by means of Order 3284/2026, of September 4, published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM) number 215, of September 9, 2026 (pages 54 to 61). The resolution, promoted by IFEMA, dismisses the allegations presented by four environmental associations and establishes the conditions for the conditioning of the new route.

The order is issued following the decommissioning of 21,330 m² of land from the livestock path, agreed upon by the Governing Council on September 2, 2026, and replaces a route that was interrupted by the facilities and pavilions of IFEMA. The new route, covering 21,336 m², with a length of 2,044 meters and a width of 6 meters, connects with the Vereda de Valdecarros north of the M-11 highway and runs to the S. A. R. Don Juan de Borbón y Battemberg roundabout, in the vicinity of the Juan Carlos I Trade Fair Park.

Processing and prior consultation

The procedure began with the request for route modification submitted by IFEMA and was subjected to prior consultation, in which various bodies issued reports:

• General Directorate of Urban Planning (February 2, 2026): the result must comply with the planning and Law 9/2001 on Land.
• General Directorate of Roads (April 17, 2026): there is no impact on regional roads.
• State Roads Demarcation in Madrid (February 20, 2026): favorable report with prescriptions.
• Canal de Isabel II, S. A., M. P. (January 23, 2026): warns of the public domain nature of its lands.
• Tagus Hydrographic Confederation (February 11, 2026): no public hydraulic domain watercourse is affected.
• Madrid City Council (February 6, 2026): provides the properties from the Municipal Land Heritage Inventory.

The file was subjected to public information (BOCM no. 147, of June 23, 2026) and a ten-day hearing process, and the Livestock Paths Section of the Environment Council reported favorably by majority on June 18, 2026.

Dismissed allegations

Written allegations were submitted by the Association for the Defense of the Environment and for Sustainable Urbanism, Liberum Natura, ARBA (Association for the Recovery of the Native Forest), and the Jarama “El Soto” Environmental Association. Among their arguments were the possible nullity derived from contentious procedure 932/2025 against the Special Plan of APE 21.10, the overlap of the new route with the Vereda del Quinto and with the public domain of the Canal de Isabel II, and the lack of agreement regarding the financing of the footbridge over the M-11.

The order dismisses all allegations, considering that the file complies with Law 3/1995, of March 23, on Livestock Routes, Law 8/1998, of June 15, on Livestock Routes of the Community of Madrid, and Decree 7/2021, of January 27, which approves its Regulation. It is argued that the modification increases the area of public livestock domain and guarantees the continuity of livestock transit, and that the procedure is independent of the alleged Special Plan.

Conditions and deadlines

The developer must prepare the new route and present the corresponding project within six months from the approval of the order, with the approval of the General Directorate of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food, including signage, annual clearing, and road conditioning. The footbridge crossing the M-11 will be financed and executed by the Madrid City Council and the Madrid Trade Fair Institution Consortium (IFEMA), in accordance with the agreement signed between both parties, and all derived expenses shall be borne by the developer.

The order, which exhausts the administrative route, was signed by delegation by the General Director of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food, Ángel Enrique de Oteo Mancebo, and it may be challenged by a motion for reconsideration within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months. The resolution closes a file affecting the continuity of livestock transit in the surroundings of the fairgrounds and sets a precedent on how livestock routes are reconciled with the capital’s large urban facilities.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid, no. 215, September 9, 2026, section I.D (Announcements), pp. 54-61 (official reference: Order 3284/2026, file 03/14.388/26).