The Almuñécar Town Hall has informed stall holders at the Municipal Market that that as of the 1st of September they must close. The market is to be demolished.

The Councillor for Urban Development informed them that a temporary market will be erected under a marquee, but with a concrete floor, somewhere on the P-4; i.e., near the stadium.

A contract will be awarded to a private company, which will build the new market in exchange for running the parking underneath and all of the blue zones in the municipality. The duration of this lease is not known.

The PSOE opposition leader considers that the governing party doesn’t appear to have a “route map” and is lacking decisive action, preferring to drag it out until the next municipal elections. He also pointed out that the present market is being “held up” by 3,000 joists.

Finally, he concluded that he foresees that by the time that the elections comes around there will just be a big hole where the market stood and little more.

Benavides’ party (PA), on the other hand, wonders what “hidden financial interests” are behind their “obsession to demolish the market.” The PA’s stance is for the market to be patched up and the underground parking re-openned, which they will put forward at the Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the Town Council scheduled for tomorrow.

Editorial Comment: The idea that a private company will have complete control over all the blue zones within Almuñécar and La Herradura for period of at least decades is disconcerting, to say the least.