Ronda gets millions of Euros in government stimulus

Yesterday in our mailbox we received a notice from the Ronda Town Hall telling us where the money allocated as part of the central government's stimulus package was going to to be spent over the next 3 years.

The biggest project by far is the redevelopment of Plaza d'España on the north side of the Puente Nuevo. At the moment the plaza has two lanes of traffic that lead from Virgen de la Paz onto the bridge, but there is a side street and an entrance to the Parador hotel as well, and because of the volume of traffic two local police officers are permanently stationed here during daylight hours to direct traffic. So the plan is to redevelop the plaza with a traffic roundabout that is going to cost a million Euros.

The next big capital investment will be the renovation of a building on Calle Armiñan right next to the entrance to Plaza Duquesa de Parcent where the Town Hall and the church of Santa Maria are located. After the renovation Ronda will get a new museum dedicated to Semana Santa. What a fantastic idea, Semana Santa is the second biggest event annually, so making the icons and other Easter parade items available for the public to see will be good for Ronda Tourism.

Elsewhere in Ronda we're going to get a new public garden at the Campillos roundabout where most visitors to Ronda first enter the city, and this will no doubt beautify an ugly entrance. Very good news for Ronda, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they have in mind.

A couple of million Euros are also being spent in and around one of Ronda's most depressed suburbs, La Dehesa, in an effort to beautify and provide essential services such as pavements and sporting facilities. This area of town tends to have a lot of graffiti and can be quite dangerous at night for some residents so tidying it up is seen as a priority to give otherwise bored residents something to keep them occupied.

Finally, the Alameda park is going to get a makeover as well, replacing trees that have been vandalized, fixing footpaths with broken tiles, tidying up the bird sanctuary, and adding new rubberized mats for the childrens play area. This year promises to be a good year in Ronda with all these renovations. It should make Ronda a more pleasant city for tourists as well.