Campoamor Market Councillor meets Los Verdes

Today (3rd March) four members of the Orihuela Costa Working Group of Los Verdes of Orihuela, accompanied by three applicants for stalls on the Campoamor Market, attended a meeting with José Manuel Cutillas, the Councillor with responsibility for markets, at the Ayuntamiento in Orihuela.

Los Verdes member Ulla Perret explained to the Councillor the concerns of the many non-Spanish business people who have applied, but been unsuccessful in their applications, to obtain a stall on the market, although for the many weeks that it has been open, both at the original and new location, there have been almost half of the sites left vacant. The stall holders who have been allocated these positions have chosen not to attend. The Councillor was asked why the pitches that were left vacant were not re-allocated to traders who wanted to attend the market.

Sr. Cutillas confirmed during the meeting that the current under-utilisation of the pitches in the market was under review. The traders who have chosen not to attend each week have been given until the 13th March 2009 to confirm whether or not they wish to keep their pitch and will be trading each week. Any sites that are confirmed as no longer wanted will be re-allocated amongst the outstanding applications. The Councillor was asked what was to stop unscrupulous traders who had no intention at this time of being at the market but prepared to pay for a pitch so as to keep the allocation for future use. He confirmed that if a pitch was not occupied for a period of four weeks then the trader would lose the licence and it would be re-allocated.

Sr. Cutillas was asked why this procedure, in accordance with the current Bye-law governing any market in the Orihuela Municipal, has not been acted upon already, given the length of time the market has been in existence both at the Campoamor and Aqua Marina locations, and the empty pitches issued to some of the enthusiastic traders who desperately want to be part of the Campoamor market. He said that because of the inadequacies in the start and promotion of the market at the Campoamor site and change of location to the Agua Marina site it was being treated as a new market.

(This seems a convenient way of ignoring past non-attendance and giving the deliberately absent stall holders a second bite of the cherry.)

He was asked if that means that when the market moves back to its summer Campoamor site, traders will have to reapply for sites there. He said of course not, as it is the same market!

Councillor Cutillas confirmed that he would telephone Ulla Perret, as a member of the Orihuela Costa Working Group, on the 16th March 2008 to give an update on the progress of possible vacant sites and re-allocation of these, to the traders being assisted by Los Verdes.

Sr. Cutillas confirmed that he wanted the market to be made up of a variety of traders of different nationalities and that preference would be given to residents of Orihuela Municipality where possible, taking into consideration the products sold.

Although some of those who met Councillor Cutillas were not entirely satisfied with the response from him, it was clear that at this time there was not going to be any further progress from his department until after the 13th March, but they wait with intense interest to see how he acts after then.

Will there be any re-allocation of market spaces to European residents of Orihuela?