Navalcaballo approves the fiscal ordinance for the harvesting of firewood

The Navalcaballo City Council (Soria) has made final the Fiscal Ordinance regulating the harvesting of firewood in municipally owned forests, as no claims were filed during the thirty-business-day public exhibition period. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Soria, number 98, dated August 24, 2026, pages 2902 to 2906, with reference BOPSO-98-24082026.

The regulation, signed by Mayor Andrés Muñoz Fernández on August 17, 2026, organizes the exercise of household firewood harvesting that residents have enjoyed “since time immemorial” according to customary rules, which are now insufficient given the economic and social revitalization of the municipality. It is issued in exercise of the power recognized in article 38.d) of Royal Legislative Decree 781/1986, of April 18, and in accordance with articles 15 to 19 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5, which approves the revised text of the Law regulating Local Treasuries.

Annual Draw and Access Requirements

Each year, the City Council will determine the location and volume of the household firewood lots to be awarded to family units, based on the availability of the local forests. During the last quarter of each year, a council meeting will be held to mark the plots and, once marked, the lots will be publicly drawn, with a final official announcement of the awardees.

To participate, it is necessary to meet a series of conditions:

• Be of legal age, an emancipated minor, or judicially enabled with the capacity to act.
• Be registered in the Municipal Census at the residential address for which the plot is requested.
• Be up to date with tax obligations to the City Council and have no debts related to the property.
• Have paid the harvesting fee in the time and manner established by announcement or Mayoral proclamation.
• Appear on the draw list published by the City Council.

Only one plot will be awarded per applicant and household, the latter being understood as the property designated as the residence of the registered applicant, upon presentation of one of the utility bills (water, waste…) paid in the last quarter. Applications shall be submitted at the municipal offices of the Los Rábanos City Council, with the period open each year from October 15 to November 15, both inclusive.

Fee and Obligations of the Awardees

The tax quota will consist of a fixed annual amount for each open and residential house in the town, applying a rate of 15 euros per plot. The mere payment of the fee does not imply the acquisition of the right to harvest, and once the payment has been made, it shall not be refundable under any circumstances.

The successful bidders are entitled to the utilization for one year and are obliged to collect the remains derived from the firewood before March 30 of the following year, and may not store them on roads, forest tracks, public streets, or places that obstruct passage. The cutting and removal shall be carried out in accordance with the technical prescriptions of the Junta de Castilla y León and its Environmental Agents.

Sanctions for sale or non-compliance

The ordinance establishes a sanctioning regime for those who do not comply with its provisions:

• Those who do not collect the remains or fail to comply with the guidelines will be denied any municipal utilization for the following five years, both for the holders and the assigned households, losing all rights to the lot that would have corresponded to them.
• Those who proceed to the sale of the utilization—which is prohibited under any concept as it concerns household firewood corresponding to residential properties—will be denied the concession and may not apply for it again in successive years.

The ordinance shall enter into force on the day following the publication of the final approval in the Official Gazette of the Province of Soria and shall begin to be applied starting from the year in which it was definitively approved. An administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León based in Burgos, or before the administrative section of the Court of First Instance of Soria, within a period of two months.

The regulation affects all residents of Navalcaballo, who will see a traditional utilization of the municipal forests ordered and appraised, guaranteeing access to the household firewood lottery to any resident who meets the requirements, while ensuring the conservation of resources and penalizing their commercialization.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Soria, no. 98, August 24, 2026, pp. 2902-2906 (official reference: BOPSO-98-24082026).