It took ten years and half a million euros to sort out Motril’s biggest botchjob – the new police station for the Policía Nacional.

It all began on the 16th of November 2007 when the pride of the town was inaugurated by the then PP Mayor, Carlos Rojas, but no sooner than it was opened and operative, the facade began to fall off, little by little, so that barriers had to be put in place to keep people at a safe distance.

Let’s not forget that until this new building went up, the police station was in front of the municipal library; a decrepid building in the centre of town (Rambla de Capuchinos). The police had been complaining since the 80’s that it was too small and inadequate for a town the size of Motril. So, imagine the joy when the new building was inaugurated.

The new building, which cost almost a piffling 3-million euros, was 10-times bigger, airy, shiny… and defective.

But it wasn’t just because standing outside for a crafty fag could be lethal thanks to the facade, but windows didn’t close properly, oh, and the first thing to fall off was the inauguration plaque.

Then in 2014, after years of complaints from the police union, SUP, the Central Government recognised that the building was full of “hidden faults,” and would do something about it, which was when the barrier went up to protect passersby and inveterate smokers.

Whose fault was it? Obviously the builders, who had applied alacrity without efficiency… or love, to its construction. The authorities took them to court.

In March 2016, a Junta bigwig, Antonio Sanz (PP) visited the wilting building and announced that they would not await the outcome of the law suit and would go ahead with the much needed repair work, paying from their own pocket… well, yours, actually.

Madrid earmarked 790,000 euros and work was to begin that same summer, but it was not to be because the money could not be found from the 2016 budget.

The Central Government did find the money (what was left after all the pilfering within the governing party) and awarded the contract to Construcción Cordobesa S.L., who were going to do it for 483,616,98 euros.

Work began in August 2017 with a 7-month execution phase, i.e., to be finished by the 8th of March 2018, which it was, more or less.

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