Jimena Council approves agreement with ministry on castle restoration

JIMENA (Press release / Photo: www.miguelangeltabales.com) The Council's plenary session of this morning approved an agreement of cooperation with the central Ministry of Development that will allow to begin work on the castle's renovation (first reported here). Approval by the Council was a prerequisite to obtaining part of the nearly €1 million the work will cost from the ministry, the procedure for which had a deadline of December 10. Mayor Pascual Collado said that the Junta de Andalucía has carried out five phases of archaological digs and studies at the castle over the last few years, the principal conclusions of which pointed out the need for action, so that it can be 'put into value' (Prospero note: translation of 'make available for tourism', we think). Thus, the central government will finance>75% of the cost of the project. The Town Hall also has a verbal commitment from the Junta for another 12.5%, with the rest of it supposedly coming from the Council, though negotiations are proceeding with Diputación de Cádiz, who might well take over this portion of the investment.