Castellammare di Stabia's management of its seafront and bathing concessions is under political pressure, with opposition voices criticising dismantled equipment in the Villa Comunale, the cost of recent beach services, and a further technical extension of existing concessions.
According to Metropolis Web, the group Democratici e Progressisti has criticised the handling of the waterfront and the dismantling of seaside equipment installed in the Villa Comunale. The group argues that current service provision is inadequate.
The same report says the group cites approximately 600,000 euros spent on those structures over two years. That expenditure figure, the dismantling, and the alleged shortcomings in services — including toilet facilities — are political claims reported by the local press. No underlying municipal expenditure or works documents were acquired in the research for this article.
Call to withdraw the extension and prepare a 2027 tender
According to the group, the Extraordinary Commission approved a further technical extension of existing bathing concessions. Democratici e Progressisti are asking for the related acts to be withdrawn.
The exact content and legal effect of the alleged commission resolution were not independently verified from the commission's own decision, and the available sources do not establish whether the requested revocation was accepted or rejected.
The article reports that the contested administrative framework refers to 30 September 2027 as the final deadline for existing concession titles under the cited legislation. The relationship between that date and a 30 September 2026 date mentioned in the local political debate would require examination of the underlying municipal and national legal acts.
For the next step, Democratici e Progressisti call for a project and tender for 2027 that would provide lower costs and improved structures.
Free beaches and the 30% demand
The debate concerns both the management of free beaches and the allocation of bathing concessions.
Separately, Il Corrierino reports that Base Popolare demands that at least 30% of beach areas remain for free use, with free access to the shoreline. The sources do not independently confirm the current operational condition of every free beach service or the precise share of free-use coastline now available in Castellammare.
Base Popolare also argues that the municipal planning process and implementation of the coastal plan have been delayed or inadequately advanced.
The regional framework: what the PUAD does
Useful context for readers is the regional planning framework cited in the debate. The PUAD — the Piano di Utilizzo delle Aree Demaniali — is the Campania Region framework that regulates tourist and recreational use of maritime public land.
It classifies coastal areas and provides the rules for municipal implementation plans. Coastal municipalities, including Castellammare di Stabia, must organise coastal use consistently with its provisions. That is why both the opposition demands and the municipal planning process refer back to the PUAD.
Municipal background: the February 2026 notice
A second piece of context is that the Municipality had already initiated a procurement-related process for free bathing areas.
On 27 February 2026, the Municipality of Castellammare di Stabia published a notice concerning a short list for supplying, installing and operating equipment serving free bathing areas. The notice covered supply and installation as well as operation and functioning services.
That notice does not by itself resolve the current dispute over costs, dismantling, or extensions, but it shows that equipment and services for free beaches were subject to a formal municipal process earlier in 2026.
What remains unclear
Several points remain open. The 600,000-euro figure and criticisms of the Villa Comunale installations remain claims by Democratici e Progressisti. The legal scope of the technical extension attributed to the Extraordinary Commission still needs to be checked against the commission's published resolution.
What to watch next is whether the extension acts are withdrawn, as requested, and what project the city prepares for the 2027 season — particularly on costs, quality of structures, guaranteed free access to the sea, and consistency with the regional coastal plan.
