Cantabria has over 200 kilometers of coastline, 80 beaches (more, actually) and 4 surf reserves. Nevertheless, his government is working on building a Madrid-style wave pool just 7 kilometers from the sea. But not everyone is satisfied: on Saturday 31 October, Villaverde de Pontones (Ribamontan al Monte, with only 467 inhabitants) received more than 8,000 people, according to the organization. They cut the main road so that no, a region that already doubts whether it wants to be the “Ibiza of the North” can put an artificial lagoon in the middle of the city.
At the protest, slogans were chanted and one could read “Cantabria defends itself. PSIR not Olucas.” Those affected by other PSIRs were added: Real de Piasca in Torrelavega, Laredo, Astillero and Las Excavadas. It was called by a group called the Cantabristus Party. Paulu Lobete, its general secretary, said that “there can be no common interest if there is a common rejection.” Then, when the mayor and PRC candidate, Paula Fernandez, spoke, they got a great boo.
A resort, not a pool. The Olukas Surf Center occupies 100,000 square meters and the lagoon will be less than a quarter of that. The rest are glamping cabins for 2 to 6 guests, restaurants, shops, stages and parking. The government protects more than 40 million euros of private investment, 60 direct jobs and 200,000 visitors per year without public spending. Parliament had about 800 daily users, 2,000 in the summer. But neighbors see something else: more traffic, more noise, more expensive housing and a business for just a few.
shortcut. Why PSIR? Because municipal regulations don’t allow the project. A single plan of regional interest would allow the government to reclassify and expropriate land without going through the city council of Ribamontán al Monte. The promoter registered the plan half an hour before the parliamentary debate where María José Sánchez de Buruga (President) announced the project. The Government Council announced regional interests in less than 4 months. You can read the deal published on BOC, which includes the promoter’s arguments and excerpts from the Sports and Tourism Report.
Whose interests? That is the real question. Victims do not understand how a private benefit, including access to payment, can meet that condition. The surfing community isn’t synonymous with regional interests, or so they maintain, and they want to know what the public value of a wave created in a region that adds waves to “a giant,” they say.
The Minister of Development, Housing, Regional Planning and Environment, Roberto Media, assured that the OLUCAS Surf Center “is not going to be crippled”, selling it as a facility with the best technology in the world and will continue to process it and move forward. However, it is worth remembering that Olucas Cantabria SL was born in May 2025 with a capital of 3,000 euros and raised it to 85,000 just a week before the announcement. The project needs 43 million euros and, according to its own documents, it is still looking for investors.
soil. And be careful because the plan is (literally) in an open-air Paleolithic site, Villaverde 2, with protection such as a BIC (resource of cultural interest, protected by the Ministry) registered in the Regional Archaeological Inventory. Conversely, the assessment in Parliament was “no problem”. Additionally, the developer controls 70% of the land. The rest goes through contract or possession: about 6 plots, who are estimated to be affected.
30,000 cubic meters. That volume of the lake is needed every year to compensate for evaporation, according to the project 10 Olympic swimming pools, reminiscent of the Atleti Lagoon in Madrid, which we have already calculated. Roberto Media spoke of “two conventional swimming pools”.
But if we take an eagle eye, it is worth remembering that Ribamontan al Monte suffered restrictions in Lermo this summer, and that Cantabria is the community that uses the most water per inhabitant: 186 liters per day. Average per inhabitant, according to INE, is 128 liters per day. Some studies consider that going over 100 liters is wasteful. This is based on the threshold estimated by the WHO.
What the mayor (and those who don’t rule) say. A few days before the march, and after neighborhood pressure, regionalist Raul Ruiz and the president of the Neighborhood Council, Cesar Bolivar, declared themselves against the project. Ruiz sees PSIR as “a good tool for the public, but not for the private.” And he mentions Roberto Media and promoters as the only ones who can stop it.
How to get there, all vehicles enter through Trapa Para along a narrow road. Not in vain, the City Council demanded independent access and asked for water and access to be resolved before final approval. In an interview for Cadena Se, Lobte said that “when the public tells you there is no interest, you will be alone.” According to him, Buruga and the media now have only propagandists.
The PP spokesman in parliament, Juan José Alonso, accused the opposition of boycotting investment and employment with half-truths. But PRC, PSOE and Vox have questioned the project and don’t buy that story. Regionalist Pedro Hernando spoke of a “strange smell” and problems with land, water, energy and access. In conclusion, PSIR has only preliminary approval but no final approval.
Picture | Cantabristus / Olucas
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