Loulé court has enforced an order made in 2011 that an entire Albufeira apartment bloc must be demolished, and the top floor of another removed, at an estimated cost of €500,000.
Albufeira’s mayor and councillors currently each are paying fines of €25 per day until the work is done.
At issue are two buildings at the Roja Pé urbanisation in Olhos de Água that the municipality, according to the decision by the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Loulé, allowed to be built despite their violating the rules of the local municipal master plan (PDM).
One of the problems is that the apartments are occupied with 66 householders having paid between €100,000 and €150,000 for their homes. The bloc to be demolished contains 16 apartments and the top floor of the other has 12.
The letters sent out by the council this week advising owners that their homes are going to be torn down within 120 days, relate to a court decision taken in 2011, yet the council has only now admitted the extend and seriousness of the predicament and has been forced to come clean with those affected just three months before demolitions begin.
The case dates back to 2002 when the president of the municipality was Desidério Silva, memorable for leaving the council mid-term to take up the presidency of the Algarve Tourism Board and for leaving Albufeira's overdrawn accounts in a mess.
In brief, the builder asked for permission to change the approved plans for 4 apartment blocs and a lovely green space play area.
The asked for amendments were approved by the Desidério Silva council and the designated play area ended up as the location of an additional apartment bloc. The play area was to be built at a new location over the road but was of course never started and the land later was sold off.
esidério Silva's only comment so far has been "I think what I did was all in accordance with the technical advice."
It is not known if the developer paid bribes to any members of the council to get this extraordinary decision passed but there must have been a powerful reason for those in the council to pass amendments that clearly contravened planning regulations.
It looks like Albufeira's ratepayers will be in for a financial setback as no doubt the council will end up paying full price for 28 apartments and the costs of demolition, just as the municipal accounts were starting to look a bit more ship-shape.
Albufeira council sent out notices this week to the residents affected but is not offering compensation, opting instead to offer the rather cynical advice that each owner is entitled to take the council to court for compensation, as 'this is their right under the law.'
"People have their rights, if they want to defend them they need to arrange a lawyer and defend them," said mayor Carlos Silva e Sousa in a less than emouliant comment.
The council's stance seems designed to weed out those who can not afford legal fees or whose life expectancy is not suficiently generous to enter into a prolonged court process that by current speeds will take several years to start, let alone encompass the inevitable obections and appeals by the council's lawyers designed to delay compensation payment.
Still no sensible comment from Desidério Silva whose already poor reputation has just sunk a few more feet below the mud.
For a full report by Natasha Donn at The Resident, see:
http://portugalresident.com/demolition-shock-rocks-albufeira-apartments
For another Desidério Silva planning permission court case, see:
http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/4643-tourism-boss-in-court-over-illegal-building
Comments
How absurd is it to hear of one mayor or branch of public administration is apparently less incompetent or dishonest than another ? As though this is some sort of improvement ?
What if Portugal's 'benefit cheques' were not sent direct to Lisbon but through the other Latino Club Med countries ?
So the 2 billion euros that left Brussels arrives in Lisbon missing say a billion. Would the Portuguese be laughing it off saying 'It looks like France took the most as it passed through their hands. Bit surprising as we assumed Italy would. Greece quite honest - only a hundred million or so withdrawn. And Spain took a chunk out which is to be expected but still a shame as they are our cousins.'
Just a giggle. Public administration after all is still just a big hoot in these countries.
Answer - the persecution of Macário Correia is nothing to do with planning consents; Correia merely reminded them in Lisbon that they are workshy incompetents. And they do not like to be reminded of this truth.
The politician blames the municipal technicals. And there is no precedent for another 50 years for the state to go after these technicals. And there is still no safe procedure for technicals to report any 'banditry' by the politicians without losing their jobs or being ostracised.
Yet ironically Passos-Coelho's OLAF investigation involves allegedly the training of local government officers in 2002 - 2004. Presumably just 'jolly days out' rather than anything an advanced countries local government officers would call training.
And the trigger for this is not the little people. It would have to be a 'biggy' to be stirring up the courts to investigate whatever happened to the designated play area.
So did the 'biggy' miss out on a development somewhere else ? Or wanted the play area for their own scam ?
None of this is healthy.
That there is no legal procedure in place to punish elite VIP wrong doers ! Particularly those from 10 years or more ago. Or is there - but this judge was 'bent' sufficiently not to use it ?
Would the still missing Illicit Gain legislation have helped here ? But then what Portuguese politician - having climbed the greasy pole hurling grease left and right and catching much of it in their hair and eyes -, would then create legislation that might catch themselves out ?
By making Illicit Gains retrospective - and if so by how many years ? How can any of the elite be absolutely sure they have buried all traces of their wrongdoing. Some loose talk. A stray email. A relatives bank statement with something 'inexplicable' on it.
As Malcolm points out -why pointlessly go after today's politicians who can easily wriggle out as its not their doing ? And with innocent sitting tenants to shift first?
Ignoring both those politicians and municipal officers who made the building happen ?
The judge is well aware that these apartment occupants have 12 years legitimate occupancy (ownership?) which gives them squatters rights.
Evicting them will take months or years. Particularly as they presumably need compensation paid. Not just promised. Or equivalent quality accommodation.
So the councillors will appeal and the next judge along will over turn the 1st judges decision. So the fudge goes on.
In any case Portugal can apply retrospective laws when it suits them. Taking BES depositors out of the safe Novo Banco bank after originally putting them in it is just one example.
So why not apply north European common sense and go after the 2002 politicians and municipal officers who allowed the development to go ahead? And no doubt took a bung to arrange it.
And also the architect and site owner who will have paid the bung.
Get the bung back!