Specialist environmental organisation Almargem is hugely critical of the government’s new Odeceixe to Vilamoura coastal plan, calling it biased and containing ‘serious inaccuracies, contradictions and ambiguities.’
The coastal plan already has Lagos council up in arms over the government Environmental Agency’s duplicity and those living at beachside properties are aghast at the vehemence displayed by a taxpayer funded government department that aims to clear away long-standing properties to make way for sand.
Almargem argues that the Coastal Zone Plan certainly should not be approved as it stands, but should be the subject of a thorough review involving all those affected and Portugal’s expert environmental organisations.
The organisation does not hold back in its criticism, especially where it sees big business being catered for at the expense of natural resources, national park territory and sustainable land use planning.
Specifically, the destruction of over 30 properties at Monte Clérigo, Aljezur and the creation of an ‘inexplicably large’ carpark all seems conveniently linked to the planned sale of 311 hectares of nearby protected land for €10 million.
This land, within the national park, is “next to the beach” and has been earmarked for “three hotels, 200 homes, 200 apartments, a heliport and a golf course,” according to an estate agency listing.
Similarly, near Armação de Pêra proposed Praia Grande (Salgados) development the Environment Agency’s agenda includes the long-suspected creation of a Protected Private Area of beach for the future use of resort guests. ‘This use of public money will only benefit the commercial enterprises involved in this environmental crime,’ states Almargem.
When questioned about the creation of a private beach at the height of the ‘Save Salgados’ campaign, the developer Finalgarve dismissed the suggestion as nonsense but we now see a proposal for public money to be spent for the benefit of an already disgraced property developer.
Among the failures of the coastal plan, Almargem points to the "lack of clarity in the demarcation of the different areas, omitting or incomprehensibly altering protected tracks in numerous places" “the treatment of some beach areas, and not other beach areas” and the demolition of buildings located outside any recognised zoning band.
The association also criticises the continuing dumping of sand from the immediate shoreface onto tourist beaches as a method of coastal management and calls for the some of the serious damage done at Lagos’s Dona Ana beach to be reversed by removing the huge artificial sea wall built as part of a €1.8 million waste of taxpayers’ money.
After ‘improvement’ work, Dona Ana beach dropped out of sight from its former Condé Nast ranking as one of the top ten in the world and Almargem points to a 'failure to recognise the crime committed in 2015' to the beach.
The coastal plan ends it public consultation process today. If it goes ahead unaltered, 11 beaches will undergo the Environment Agency’s infamous makeover blueprint at a cost of €5.3 million.
One of the problems is that the Algarve division of the Environment Agency is run by Sebastião Teixeira, the same man who runs Polis, the company that made it his mission to knock down as many Ria Formosa island properties before anyone could complain.
Despite environmental specialists such as Almargem firmly opposed to the destructive and intrusive coastal plan, especiallywhen private business interests are being favoured over the public good, it remains to be seen whether the government will rubber stamp the proposal or whether it will listen to those the plan affects and explain why it is a good idea to deprive the public from a section of the Praia Grande beach so that tourists only are allowed to use it.
What is Almargem?
http://almargem.org/siteantigo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34&Itemid=38
'Demolitions to sweep away bars and villas at 11 more Algarve beaches' June 22, 2016
http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/9187-demolitions-to-sweep-away-bars-and-villas-at-11-more-algarve-beaches
'Algarve’s “demolition man” targets clinker-built charm of Monte Clérigo' (The Resident) 23rd June, 2016
Comments
This is what Polis has been doing on the barrier islands in it 800 property destruction programme. The politicians are all looking the other way while families suffer. This shameful use of the political progress is bit one example of the State protecting the rich and screwing the poor.
Property has to be protected by law, or it has no value.
Can anyone's property be demolished to put in a parking lot now?