A planned wave pool on Spain's north coast has become a fight between a village and its regional government. On 31 October 2026 residents marched in Villaverde de Pontones, in Cantabria, against the Olucas Surf Center. elDiario.es put the crowd at more than eight thousand, and Europa Press reported thousands, according to the organisers.
Two days earlier the mayor of Ribamontán al Monte, Raúl Ruiz, said the town hall would use every technical and legal tool it has to try to stop the complex being built. The regional government says the process will go on.
What is planned
The promoter, Olucas Cantabria, plans a lagoon of about 23,000 square metres on a site of about 100,000 square metres, with glamping cabins for two to six guests, restaurants and wellness facilities, about seven kilometres inland from the coast near Somo. Its filing says it has signed agreements with Wavegarden as technology partner, though Wavegarden has not announced the project. The regional government puts the investment at 40 million euros, all private, and almost 100 direct jobs.
The pool would need about 30,000 cubic metres of water a year to keep its level stable and make up for evaporation, according to the promoter's own figures, in a municipality with summer water restrictions.
How it got here
Municipal planning rules do not allow the project, so the promoter asked the Government of Cantabria to handle it as a Proyecto Singular de Interés Regional, which is a route for projects of regional interest. The government declared it of regional interest on 15 October 2026 and published the decision in the Boletín Oficial de Cantabria on 22 October. Under Cantabria's 2022 planning law, that declaration does not decide whether the project is finally approved, and the promoter has three years from its publication to reach initial approval.
When the project went before the regional planning committee in September, the town hall backed continuing the process. On 29 October, under pressure from residents, the mayor and the head of the village council came out against it.
What happens next
Roberto Media, the regional minister responsible, said on 5 November that the process "will not be halted." Once the promoter files its technical project, it goes through environmental and planning procedures and permits from other administrations, with several rounds of public consultation; the law sets at least 45 days for the first. The promoter holds about 70 percent of the land.
The project has split Cantabria's politics. Regional president María José Sáenz de Buruaga called it an opportunity for investment, stable jobs and off-season tourism, while Socialist leader Pedro Casares said that if his party governs Cantabria, it will be stopped.
Good to Know
Nothing is approved beyond the declaration of regional interest, there is no construction date, and in June the government estimated approval would take up to a year and a half. Spain's open wave pools today are Nomadas Surf Park in Andalusia and the standing wave at Honna Surf Hub in Madrid, and Gemswell Surf Madrid is due in spring 2027.
