Juan Carlos Benavides said, as Spokesman for the Almuñécar PA, that it is lamentable that the municipal market is going to disappear.

More to the point, he claims that there are already plans to demolish the said market and hand the plot over to a well known supermarket chain with a lease for 40 years.

“We lament the fact that, as we warned, the market is going to disappear,” said Benny, pointing out that the Mayor had had no intention of renovating the existing building. The next step is for the building project to be put up for bidding.

We have posted as an accompanying photo the plan on how the new building will take shape.

According to Benny, the project cost is some eight-million euros, and does in fact include 32 market stalls (43% fewer than now). These stalls will occupy only 11% of the new building, whereas the supermarket will get the other 89% (13.695 sq/m).

Summing up, the building will retain two parking floors, have six business premises in the facade of the building at street level, and the supermarket will occupy the 1st and 2nd floor.

The company that had had the parking concession will receive four-million in compensation and another one million will be spent on providing the large marquee where the market stalls will be temporarily placed.

Furthermore, the Town Hall will give the supermarket chain an exemption privilege from paying municipal taxes.

Sr. Benavides says that the stallholders are neither guaranteed a new stall, nor if they do get one of the few available, that the previous rent will be respected.

Editorial comment: stallholders are local businessmen, who will lose out to a multinational supermarket chain. Small, local businesses are fast becoming a thing of the past, unfortunately.

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