Manilva town hall has big plans to refurb Plaza de los Naranjos in Sabinillas
A modern new fountain, more space for pedestrians and the elimination of architectural barriers are the key aims of the renovation project
The popular Plaza de los Naranjos in San Luis de Sabinillas, also known as Plaza de Jorge Guillén, will undergo a complete refurbishment in the coming months. This was explained to SUR by Manilva's councillor for infrastructures and works, Marcos Ruiz, announcing a project with a total budget of 220,000 euros.
"This square is in the area of Punta Almina, in San Luis de Sabinillas: it is a very central, popular and busy square. Although this project was initiated in the previous term by the then councillor Agustín Vargas, in our electoral programme we included in this reform the pedestrianisation of Calle Aurora de Albornoz, which joins two of the most important roads in Sabinillas, Avenida de Andalucía and Calle Duquesa de Arcos, and we also included a more extensive reorganisation of spaces," the councillor told this newspaper.
The works, which will begin in mid-September, will give the square a new look, "also including some facilities at one end to be able to place a stage because this square also hosts events and concerts".
"Currently, there are many rough brick planters that create architectural barriers, and there is also a tiered fountain that is always out of order, which causes many problems because it is not self-filling and has to be topped up with a hose pipe, making the whole maintenance process very cumbersome," Ruiz explained.
Therefore, in the first phase, "which will be done in two stages to cause as little inconvenience as possible to local residents and businesses", speed bumps, planters and architectural barriers will be removed, the current fountain will be removed and a fountain with water jets will be installed, "a modern fountain, leaving the space more open for pedestrians, businesses and residents of the square".
The second phase will begin in 2026 and will be when the pedestrianisation of the area will start, with the elimination of approximately 12 parking spaces "which will be relocated to the park area, where approximately 20 new spaces will be created for vehicles", as confirmed by the councillor.
The gardens department will take care of the plants that are currently in the square, transplanting them to other places and keeping the ficus tree in its current location "which is respected because it has more structure and size and is more difficult to move", he concluded.
