Faro council has called for urgent intervention over the demolition of part of a tower attached to Faro’s city wall. Faro council has been following the situation for some time and finally has called for "the urgent reconstruction of the tower.”
According to Faro’s socialist councillors, part of the wall, "a kind of internal turret,” was demolished by the owners of two dilapidated buildings in Faro old town, to whom the council granted a license for cleaning and removal of debris.
The owners then 'clearly violated the most elementary rules for historical and classified areas,' and socialist councillors alerted the council.
Faro sent out a statement today confirming the license for the clearing and removal of debris was granted, but "during the execution of the works under the relevant permit, there was a collapse of one of the lookout towers – a structure that was not part of the wall but was attached to it in the second quarter of the C20th.”
"The Socialist Party councillors warned the members of the council executive of the event and the need to ensure the owner carrying out work minimised the impact, according to the legislation in force, and suggesting that the Board in addition to involving competent bodies and municipal technicians monitored the work, since this is the second time that there have been problems with this particular work in the heart of the historic centre of Faro.”
Those responsible for the work are shortly to start repairs but the council says to "refrain from carrying out any works until the correct permits are issued."
The main opposition party in Faro took the opportunity to point out that “the municipal management over the last four and a half years has not contributed anything to preserve the heritage of Faro, in particular the maintenance of the wall that deliniates the historic centre of the city.”
This allegation is of course denied by new mayor Rogerio Bacalhau, who assured his opponents that "this executive and the previous one have been publicly recognised for its high sense of diligence in preserving and defending Faro’s built heritage."
