The Community calls for the managing entity for the Sierra Oeste grants

The Regional Ministry of Presidency, Justice and Local Administration of the Community of Madrid has called for the procedure to select the collaborating entity that will manage and pay the grants for the Sierra Oeste con Vida Program, the reactivation plan for the region’s business fabric following the forest fire of July 2026. The call is approved by the Order of November 9, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM) number 272, of November 12, 2026, with the reference BOCM-20261112-11. Interested entities have five business days from the day following publication to submit their application.

The program is promoted by the Directorate General for Territorial Rebalancing, to which Decree 229/2023, of September 6, attributes the promotion of development and economic diversification of the region’s rural areas. The fire, which affected seventeen municipalities and caused evacuations, lockdowns, and access restrictions, damaged businesses and disrupted the functioning of the regional productive fabric as a whole. Due to the economic links between their activities, the scope of the program extends to 23 municipalities:

• Aldea del Fresno, Batres, Cadalso de los Vidrios, Cenicientos and Chapinería.
• Colmenar del Arroyo, El Escorial, Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Navalagamella and Navas del Rey.
• Pelayos de la Presa, Quijorna, Robledo de Chavela, Rozas de Puerto Real and San Martín de Valdeiglesias.
• Santa María de la Alameda, Valdemaqueda, Valdemorillo, Villa del Prado and Villamanta.
• Villamantilla, Villanueva de Perales and Zarzalejo.

The grants are not compensatory in nature nor do they replace existing emergency measures or damage repair measures. Their purpose is complementary: to modernize and recover affected companies, strengthen the competitiveness of the productive fabric, maintain employment, and attract new investments.

An allocation of 6.1 million for three lines

The agreement to be signed with the selected entity specifies the economic framework of the program:

• Maximum planned allocation of 6,100,000 euros for the three lines of grants.
• First line: support for companies affected by the fires.
• Second line: strengthening the business fabric of the region.
• Third line: attraction of investments and new economic activities.
• Maximum compensation for the collaborating entity of 350,000 euros, intended to cover costs and without economic profit.
• Initial duration of the agreement of four years, with the possibility of extension.

The entity shall act in the name and on behalf of the Community of Madrid, without the funds destined for the beneficiaries being integrated into its own assets. The authority to grant or deny the aid shall in all cases continue to correspond to the competent body of the Community, and the selection is processed in accordance with article 16.5 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Law on Subsidies.

Requirements and five-business-day deadline

Public or private entities with their own legal personality may apply, provided they prove, among other conditions:

• Not being subject to the prohibitions of article 13 of Law 38/2003.
• Being up to date with tax and Social Security obligations and having no debts in the executive period with the Community of Madrid.
• Experience in economic development, support for companies and freelancers, rural development, or management of public aid.
• Sufficient personal and material resources and a physical service space in a municipality within the area, either owned or committed from the signing of the agreement.
• Annual income or funds managed on behalf of third parties of at least 200,000 euros in one of the last three closed financial years.

Applications are submitted exclusively electronically using standardized form 4116FI, through the electronic office of the Community of Madrid, and are addressed to the Directorate General for Territorial Rebalancing. The deadline ends on November 19, 2026.

100-point scale and resolution within one month

A commission of three public employees appointed by the general directorate will evaluate the candidacies with the following distribution:

• Experience in managing public aid: up to 30 points (6 per call, maximum five).
• Experience in supporting companies and freelancers: up to 30 points (2 per action, maximum fifteen).
• Personnel assigned to management: up to 15 points (5 per person, maximum three).
• Management organization: up to 15 points (3 for each of five actions).
• IT resources: up to 10 points (application registry, archiving, and payment control).

The head of the department will resolve by order within a maximum period of one month from the day following the closing of applications; if there is no express resolution, the requests will be understood as rejected. An optional appeal for reversal may be filed against the order within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months. Councilor Miguel Ángel García Martín signs the provision, which entered into force on November 13 and does not imply authorization or commitment of expenditure.

The step taken unlocks the administrative machinery of a plan that has not yet reached the companies: without a collaborating entity, there is no window where to process applications nor payments to execute. For the SMEs and freelancers of the 23 municipalities of the Sierra Oeste, the order sets a very short calendar—five days for candidacies and one month for the award—consistent with the urgency declared by the Community so that the funds reach the businesses damaged by the July fire as soon as possible.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM), no. 272, November 12, 2026, section I.C Other Provisions, pp. 66-78 (official reference: BOCM-20261112-11).