The Almuñécar Town Hall claims that it is working towards adopting the best solution of the two concerning the municipal market; pull it all down, or patch it up.

“We are demanding of the company that has the lease on the underground car park that they make good their obligations and there is already a study that puts the cost of renovating at over 2-million euros,” says the Municipal Engineer, José Manuel Fernández.

Sr. Fernández also pointed out that regardless of which solution is chosen the stallholders will have to move out, although it is not known where they will be rehoused or for how long.

Reading between the lines, it become apparent that the Town Hall prefer the complete demolition and a new building: the Municipal Engineer considers that renovation would merely be putting a “patch” on the building and that a new version would increase car-parking spaces from 223 spaces to 300.

As for where the stallholders will end up whilst building work is going on, the P-4, in front of the municipal stadium has been put forward, using the Jardines de Alhucemas, which has not pleased the residents of that area. This is primarily because it would wipe out the parking spaces there, deprive them of their garden area and create a lot of early morning noise.

The fact is that the Municipal Market finds itself at the same point of development as it was in January, and now, six months later, with around 60% losses in sales, which some claim, is thanks to the inoperative underground car park.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)