Popular Sunday market shut down in Guardamar del Segura

Town hall has been trying to legalise activities for many years without success

Guardamar del Segura town hall has shut down El Fogón market, which it seems has been operating without a licence for the last 30 years.

It has been opening every Sunday on a 20,000 square metre plot of land alongside the N-332 opposite the Santa Ana industrial estate.

Mayor José Luis Sáez told a local Spanish newspaper that the council had been calling on the owners to legalise its situation “for many years”, but “there has been no way to achieve it”.

He said the owner had supplied paperwork but it had not been enough to qualify for the licence.

The deadline to register any objections ran out two months ago and the town hall ordered the market’s closure.

The management complied at first, then handed in more documents and reopened, but council workers concluded that these reports could not be accepted because the file was already closed.

The premises were cordoned off by the local police two weeks ago, despite which the market opened again on Sunday October 12 - possibly for the last time.

The mayor noted that the company can appeal in court and request that the closure be suspended until there is a ruling.

El Fogón market has a wide variety of stalls, as well as bars selling food and drinks.

It is known for selling antiques, and second-hand goods, but Guardia Civil have expressed concerns about goods which may have been dubiously acquired being sold there in the past.

The reason for the closure, according to Sáez, is that the market is situated on land which is classified for development and subject to conditions which do not permit this sort of activity.

A project to build housing on half a million square metres, including the market site, is pending.

Although the landowner also runs the market, an agreement with the development company would be required for the council to issue a temporary licence, the mayor explained.

This is one of numerous unauthorised activities in the municipality which the town hall jas been making efforts to legalise since this mayor took office 10 years ago.

The Moncayo market was closed last year and the Campo de Guardamar market, also on Sundays, is potentially facing closure too.

It is currently still operating because a court provisionally suspended the order while a plan to legalise the activity, which affects natural park land, is being considered.

In another case, an animal feed factory was legalised subject to various conditions, including that the company build a roundabout on the road connecting the Campo de Guardamar with the CV-905.

Image: Archive photo of a street market in Spain