The council of Alhaurín el Grande gets funding to put to tender the Second Phase of the Municipal Library.

This is a budget close to 3.5 million euros to be financed with municipal resources.

The council of Alhaurín el Grande has approved  in plenary session a budget amendment which  will allow launching the Second Phase of the Municipal Library and Foundation Gerald Brenan. Concretely, it will consist of two items: a € 1,469,000 for the annuity 2008 and another € 1,831,000 for 2009. This will complete the financing of a building which as a whole exceeds 5 million euros, of which 1.2 million were employed in the structure already completed.

The Mayor Juan Martin recalled that in 2007 the council asked the Ministry of Culture of the Andalusian Board a grant to finish this building but finally we have not been supported by the Board, thereforewe had to look for other sources of financing, in this case municipal resources. "

The building of the Municipal Library and Foundation Gerald Brenan is located at Avenida Gerald Brenan, in a central and broad site where the old Municipal Slaughterhouse was. The building has a modern design and its facade is open to a broad plaza, which will give  a very dynamic and colourful character to this facility. As for units, it has four levels: a basement for 50 places of public car parks; ground floor with a reception area and offices, room for temporary exhibitions, permanent exhibition hall where the museum Gustavo Thörlichen will be located and a large assembly hall for 200 people with stage and amphitheatre. The first floor will house the General Library, Gerald Brenan Foundation and the Centre for Hispanic Studies; on the second floor are distributed a telematics classroom, a multimedia area, another area of workshops for youth and Child zone, "although the governing team is considering modifying the project and locate in the second plant the Municipal School of Music," according to the Edil.

The works will to tender this summer and the building could be in operation by spring 2010.

The mayor has stated that "this governing team has had a great disappointment because the Government of Andalusia has not provided any subsidy for this important building, so we have seen the lack of interest from the socialist administration for culture and the figure of Gerald Brenan and Hispanic literature, but for Alhaurín el Grande it is a very important building in cultural and also tourism terms and therefore it will support local tourism with the foundation Gerald Brenan and Thörlichen museum, which will attract cultural tourism to our town, resulting in a positive way for the local economy, and that's why we have made this important economic effort that will allow us to put to tender as soon as possible the building of the Library of Alhaurín el Grande”.

Alhaurín el Grande on June 6, 2008