The newly elected Mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau, is determined to legalise the illegal houses of Culatra and the helipad that was built without permission or license.
The mayor does not go as far as openly to support these measures, but admits that he was on Culatra on the day the locals constructed the heliport and that he showed "solidarity" with the Culatra population.
"I was there on that day, I have no problem in admitting it, in an act of solidarity with the islanders. I'm not advocating illegal construction, but we should all have a spirit of solidarity for the population there, and to minimise their uncertainty.”
The island's population justified the construction of the helipad, without waiting for the correct legal proceedings, on the grounds of safety. The heliport will only be used in emergencies.
This justification has not convinced the Algarve’s League for Nature which went public in an attack against the heliport and questioned the authorities which stood by and did nothing.
Rogério Bacalhau is looking at legalising the islanders’ homes saying that “we must give these people dignity, guaranteeing access to housing with water, electricity and sewage."
The question of the helipad is just one more illegality. The people who live on the island all live in illegal houses. We have to look at this issue very carefully and solve this problem," said the mayor who added that "we can not be discussing the same topic in ten years. We'll have to legalise the situation, give security to people, give them ownership and let them live in dignity."
When asked if council technical advice and help had been offered to the Culatran helipad constructors, Bacalhau said that there may have been some help given but he of course knew nothing for certain, stating that he was not in charge, the previous executive was, and he was only the vice-president.