Faro Council say that they will sue the Faro Beach Friends and Campers Association and all the occupants of the campsite if they do not leave the site by the 24th of November.
In a note sent to newsrooms, the municipality guaranteed that it will “take legal action against all Faro Beach Friends and Campers Association members, as well as all the occupants of the site who by the 24th of this month have not taken the necessary steps to return it to the municipality”.
This position taken by the Municipality comes after a news article was published in the Correio da Manhã earlier today, in which the occupants of the campsite said that they “will present, this week, an appeal to try to prevent the municipality from taking possession of the space on the 25th of November “.
This appeal follows Loulé Administrative Court rejecting the last appeal brought forward by the Camping Users and Friends Association, which has given the Council to right to take possession of the campsite. This was originally scheduled for the 1st October before the association’s first appeal was submitted.
Faro Council says that if users do not leave the campsite space, and if the municipality advances with their own lawsuit, it "will be accompanied by the respective claim for compensation for damages caused".
The municipality officials stated that they are determined "to take possession of the space by enforcing the rulings of the courts and the deliberations of local authorities in the name of the public interest."
In the past the Council have been extremely helpful in their negotiations, offering any required services that the campers would require to leave. This includes involving social services in cases where people are struggling with money, and offering technical services to help repair vehicles or move caravans.
However, they now say that it is time to "stop playing" with the Praia de Faro campsite situation, realizing that their kindness has been taken for granted. At a press conference, Rogério Bacalhau, mayor of Faro, said he “ordered lawyers to bring legal action against the association on Friday so that any action against us will not be without consequences. In addition, we will seek compensation from the association and users if the work is delayed due to the occupancy of the space.”
The mayor recalls that “any lawsuit brought by the association shall not be suspensive. The court has ruled that we are right, we will have to stop playing with this.” The legal action that is being threatened by Faro Chamber "may or may not have consequences, depending on the actions taken by the association and by each of the users".
"For us, the 25th is the D-Day for the works to advance", concludes the mayor.
