A new party in power and a new impulse towards making Motril municipal market work. Previous mayors have failed; who knows this time.

There is a famous market in Madrid called San Miguel that many smaller towns use as the perfect solution for their sagging municipal market places, and Motril is no different.

Consequently, the Town Hall has wheeled out a project to reform the market building and has put it up for bidding to building companies. The idea is to turn the little-used upper floor into a gastro-bars area – a ‘gourmet space,’ if you like.

Interested companies had 28 days, ending around about now, to put forward their bids. The winning bid will have a 20-year concession (lease), renewable every five years.

To get an idea of what the Town Hall is after, think long the lines of the Ingenio shopping centre in Vélez Malaga – the upper floor where all the restaurants are.

The Town Hall will also commit 300,000 euros to the cause.

There’s even talk of eliminating the central section that divides the two halves of the market, as well as putting in a set of moving stairs.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada Andalucia)