Ponferrada converts market stalls into annual public domain concessions

The Ponferrada City Council has definitively approved the modification of the Regulatory Ordinance of the Municipal Food Market and the fiscal ordinance regulating the fee for said service, featuring new monthly rates and a specific annual canon for stalls that remain vacant between 2026 and 2030. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of León no. 207, dated October 30, 2026, with official references BOP-LE-2026-207006 and BOP-LE-2026-207007. The most significant legal novelty is that the enabling title to occupy premises and stalls ceases to be a public service concession and becomes a domain concession (concesión demanial).

The Plenary of the corporation initially approved both texts in a session held on September 4, 2026, an agreement that was subject to public consultation for 30 days via an announcement published in the Official Gazette of the Province no. 175, dated September 14, 2026 (BOP-LE-2026-175008). As no objections were filed within that period, the provisional approval was elevated to definitive without the need for a new plenary agreement, in accordance with Article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime.

The first announcement, signed in Ponferrada on October 28, 2026, by the delegated councilor for Economic and Industrial Development, Trade, Innovation, and Workshop School, David Pacios Martínez, contains the modification of the market’s regulatory ordinance. The second, signed on October 27, 2026, by the delegated councilor for Finance, Internal Regime, and Contracting, Luis Antonio Moreno Rodríguez, publishes the full text of the fiscal ordinance, consisting of nine articles and a single additional provision.

From public service to domain concession

The additional provision of the ordinance configures the food market service as an economic activity of general interest not reserved for local ownership, in line with the modifications introduced by the LRSAL in the LRBRL. The title of use for premises and stalls shall be the domain concession, governed by the LRBRL, Royal Decree 1372/1986, of June 13, which approves the Regulations on Assets of Local Entities, the basic provisions of the LPAP and, supplementarily, the rest of administrative law.

• Concessions shall be annual, renewable by years up to a maximum of four.
• The market ordinance will continue to apply in areas that do not contradict the legal regime of the domain concession.
• Current public service concessions remain unchanged under the granted conditions until their extinction due to expiration or any other regulatory cause.

Monthly rates by stall type

Article 6 of the tax ordinance sets the tax quota according to the type of stall and surface area, without exemptions or bonuses of any kind. On the ground floor, monthly rates range from 57.87 euros for a center stall of 8.71 square meters to 144.07 euros for exterior stalls with a basement of 21.69 meters. On the first floor, the range extends up to 1,331.05 euros per month for the large surface area of 200 meters and 343.51 euros for the bar of 51.84 meters.

• Exterior with basement: 141.61, 142.82, and 144.07 euros per month depending on surface area (21.29, 21.59, and 21.69 meters).
• Exterior and OMIC-Exterior: 92.37 euros (13.80 meters).
• Interior and OMIC-Interior: 73.93 euros (11.04 meters); center: 57.87 euros (8.71 meters).
• First floor: interior 107.14 euros (16.04 meters) and center 83.70 euros (12.76 meters).

Annual fee for vacant stalls in 2026-2030

The sole additional provision establishes the amounts applicable to temporary concessions for stalls not awarded or declared vacant due to resignation or early termination, for the period 2026-2030 and until the extinction of the concessions initially granted. In these cases, the monthly rate practically doubles and is accompanied by an annual fee.

• Exterior with basement of 21.29 meters: 292.74 euros per month and 3,512.85 euros per year.
• Exterior with basement of 21.59 meters: 296.86 euros per month and 3,562.35 euros annually.
• Exterior with basement of 21.69 meters: 298.23 euros per month and 3,578.85 euros annually.
• Exterior of 13.8 meters: 189.75 euros per month and 2,277.00 euros per year.
• Interior of 11.04 meters: 124.20 euros per month and 1,490.40 euros annually; center of 8.71 meters: 97.99 euros and 1,175.85 euros.
• First floor: interior of 16.04 meters, 190.48 euros per month and 2,285.70 euros per year; center of 12.76 meters, 151.53 euros and 1,818.30 euros.

Transfers, non-payments, and other obligations

Payment is verified on a monthly basis, and non-payment for three months allows for the application of the security deposit and the termination of the contract. Anyone resigning from a stall must provide three months’ notice and be up to date with payments. Transfers or assignments require municipal authorization, require two years of prior operation—except in cases of death, retirement, or physical impossibility—and grant the City Council a 30-day right of first refusal and 20% of the amount set for the operation. Unawarded or vacant stalls will be auctioned monthly; electricity, water, and waste disposal are the responsibility of the concessionaire, and any construction work requires a prior municipal license.

The tax ordinance will enter into force on the day of its publication in the bulletin and will be applicable from the following day. The new framework fully affects the concessionaires and market traders, who will now operate with renewable annual titles and a more demanding economic regime for stalls that become vacant, just as the City Council seeks to revalue a commercial facility with unallocated spaces.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Province of León, no. 207, October 30, 2026, section I, pp. 15-20 (official references: BOP-LE-2026-207006 and BOP-LE-2026-207007).