The British couple, whose Armona home has been condemned for demolition, staged a demonstration outside Olhão’s town hall this morning with a crowd of around 200 people agreeing that when it comes to property, "there is a dark side to Portugal."
James Tod and Paul Roseby’s half-built island home has been targeted for demolition by Sebastião Teixeira, head of the Algarve’s Environment Agency. The property is collateral damage in a long-running battle between Teixeira and local Olhão mayor, António Pina.
The island property was given permission by Olhão town hall, despite the land being on a section of the island that is designated as Public Maritime Reserve. The Brits are not alone as on the same spur of land are 139 established properties, not one of which has been targeted by Teixeira for demolition.
Mayor Pina’s explanation of a way forward is that the land in question is part of a Plano Intervenção e Requalificação, (PIR) submitted by the council to legalise this historical planning anomaly, and which has been blocked by Teixeira.
Teixeira remains deeply resentful that Olhão’s mayor played an instrumental part in cutting the number of houses for demolition on other of the Ria Formosa islands, from around 900 to a manageable number of unoccupied and long-abandoned buildings.
Tod and Roseby told the lively crowd that yes, they had fallen for the promises offered by Portugal that this was a safe place to invest, only to find themselves in the middle of a political battle, seriously out-of-pocket and spending their waking hours engaged with lawyers as they defended, unsuccessfully, their right to continue to build their dream home and to live in peace.
The message from the Britons was loud and clear, “Don't invest in Portugal” and this power couple from the UK’s theatre and arts industry now are embarking on an international media campaign to warn others to stay clear of Portugal’s property market when it comes to choosing a holiday or permanent home.
National TV crews filmed today's passionate speeches and recorded the cheers of a crowd that was under no illusion that this fight is a David and Goliath struggle for the couple and, far from a "this is Portugal" attitude, were fully supportive, with many insisting that things have to change if the country is to be taken seriously as a location for foreign property investment.
Tod and Roseby, like all the others on this potentially doomed section of Armona island, said they have been paying municipal taxes and service charges but it turns out that the council had no right to charge them anything.
This illegal collection of taxes has been pointed out Loulé court as part of a key ruling that the State is right and that the council has been wrong for years.
The Brits say that the State does not recognise their rights, the local council approved the building of their property and that they are exhausted of waiting for council promises to be honoured.
There have been properties on this section of Armona for several decades and mayor Pina said that the Britons are simply caught between two parts of the State machine with the battle between the council and the Environment Agency continuing to be played out in agonising slow motion.
The answer is plain for all to see, the PIR for Armona needs to be signed-off by the politician in charge, João Matos Fernandes, who heads the Environment ministry.
Fernandes already has engineered the departure of Sebastião Teixeira from the presidency of Polis Litoral Ria Formosa, the State-owned company in charge of the Ria Formosa Culatra and Faro Island property demolitions, and it is hoped that Teixeira also will be 'let go' from the presidency of the Algarve's Environment Agency, if this is what it takes to speed up the legalisation of the land on Armona.
Many from the crowd moved from the pavement to the council chamber, at the invitation of the mayor, to be told that Minister João Matos Fernandes had been in Olhão on Monday to discuss the situation. Mayor Pina would not state "with 200% certainty" that a deal is being done, but inferred that the political will of the socialist government is to resolve this vote-losing impasse. This is imperative before the October 1st elections, an election that Pina is in danger of losing for the party unless he can produce some results.
Pina did feel able to assure the other 139 Armona householders, many of whom were in the audience, that their houses would not be demolished.
Tod and Roseby said that they have been battling with three lawsuits and the one with the Institute of nature and Forestry (ICNF) is now at the Supreme Court. This is an appeal that the couple fully expect to lose and rightly feel that they are “being made an example of” as they have found out to their cost that "Olhão has no jurisdiction over the islands."
Pina was asked bluntly by James Tod, “Why us, why now?” The mayor’s reply of “Don’t ask me, ask the Environment Agency” did not go down well, with Tod suggesting in no uncertain terms that the mayor should ask the minister what is going on as it is the minister who pays the Environment Agency’s salaries.
Pina, clearly tired after a week of Seafood Festival and relentless electioneering, asked the audience whether anyone has any doubts at all that he wants to save island houses.
This clever move turned defence into offence with control of the room back in Pina’s end of the court, positioning himself as the saviour of the islands – a sobriquet that he rightly can lay claim to as his work already has saved many homes from demolition and he can still walk tall on Culatra.
“The conflict is between us and the State and we are working towards a solution,” was the mayor’s summary.
Tod and Roseby, now €650,000 worse off and sat on an un-saleable asset, say this is the same assurance made a year ago, since which they have been fighting court battles on their own and recently were sent yet another fine, this one for a mere €30,000, just to add to their anger and misery.
Pina must resolve this conflict and needs the minister’s intervention.
If Teixeira can be sacked as part of any deal, the Algarve will heave a collective sigh of relief as his reign of environmental destruction has had little practical purpose and his delight in persecuting members of the public, while carrying on with personal vendettas, makes him unfit for public office.
With only weeks to go before the all-important local council elections, the Socialist Party command in Lisbon will not want to lose Olhão council to the PSD opposition, or any independent upstarts.
This is a marginal seat and Pina may well ride a wave to victory if he can persuade the wily Environment Minister to sign on the dotted line and change the land classification on this key section of Armona to reflect the fact that people have lived there for decades without harming anyone or anything.
Mayor António Pina under pressure, addressing the crowd in the council chamber