The appeals court belonging to the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía has found in favour of Almuñécar Town Hall over the Municipal Market.

The construction company, Cartuja Construcciones S.L. and Grolup 21 S.L. asked for a court order to stop work on the said construction site as a cautionary measure in the dispute over how the public-works contract was awarded.

The Mayor of Almuñécar, Juan José Ruiz Joya, expressed his satisfaction with this judicial outcome stating that he hopes that “the people of Almuñécar now know who wants the project finished and those who can’t stop throwing a spanner in the works.”

The Regional Supreme Court said that although the cautionary measures requested were made in order to see if the works contract was awarded correctly, so that the rightful company finishes the job, it would mean that the construction work would be dead in the water during several years. This, the court considers, would be irreparably damaging for the greater good of the town, which is the Town Hall’s argument.

The magistrates pointed out that the TSJA is only concerned with whether the work stoppage is justified and not over who should be doing the work, which is the task of provincial court that is handling this case. They added that if  the case of the two companies that are contesting the contract is proven in their favour, they could demand compensation from the Town Hall.

Editorial comment:  unfortunately the whole story behind the demolition of the original municipal market is somewhat murky, owing to the Mayor using the total lockdown to order it being torn down, whilst nobody could protest against it and arguably breaking Covid restrictions by bringing in an outside company to do it.

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