Stallholders in the municipal market buildings along the Costa Tropical are feeling the pinch, just like everybody else, which is why they want to extend the markets’ opening times into the afternoon.
Motril is a case in point.
A municipal market is a concourse with the inhabitants of a town and its visitors flowing through it on weekday mornings, but by 14.30h it’s all over, the door to the streets closing… but there is no reason why this should be, many feel.
Accordingly, the Motril, chief opposition party, the PSOE, has sensed that this is a sentiment to tap into and champion.
The idea is firstly, for little cost says the PSOE, the cover over the central patios need repairing.
The next step is to promote the opening of bars and restaurants on the second floor, which will use products from the very market, so you can’t get much fresher than that, can you?
Another idea is to turn one of the stalls on the second floor into a tourist information point.
Foreign stall owners have already offered to translate existing information into their own languages.
We spoke to Jutte Müller, who has a bio-product stall there, to hear first hand what is needed. Jutte considers that the Town Hall hasn’t been very receptive to date about the idea of injecting some life into the building. She says that the municipal market is underused and has great potential as a meeting place, as well as somewhere to shop; it could be a mini cultural centre, with activities organised by the stall-holders themselves.
Well... let's not get carried away here......
The market is right in the middle of Motril and offers parking – something that is gold dust in most towns.
Jutta herself runs a small coffee and teashop within her stall, somewhere to rest and enjoy a cup of coffee.
There seems to be no reason that the market cannot remain open, like a shopping centre, well into the evening?
Most people would say 'yes, why not'?
