The plans for the historic centre of Olhão are now available - see below.
Olhão council has not yet made these available to the local population so the plans are published on our website to give interested parties a chance to consider if the proposed changes are sensible, sympathetic, fair, in keeping and will attract more tourists to this historic city, or not. See below for the link.
Also, have a look at 'I Love Olhão' and 'Olhão Livre' on Facebook, two organisations that are campaigning for better cooperation between the council and its public, especially when it comes to changing the fabric of the city.
Already big mistakes have been made in Olhão where large areas of traditional cobblestones have been torn up and replaced with utilitarian paving slabs which do nothing to enhance the charm and appeal of the city. The new plans include a budget item for re-paving.
Charming old squares in the winding lanes have been sharpened up with the same paving slabs in the name of progress and a species of uber-modern lighting that would be better suited to a modern shopping centre.
The charming old bracket lights in the city centre are a reminder of a proud past yet the council sees new, bright lights, rather than the softer tones in a traditional housing, as somehow more appropriate. Many of these old street lights are left in a state of disrepair with broken or missing glass panels and dud bulbs.
Progress, argue most Olhãoense, would be to remove graffiti, repair cobblestone streets, weed, increase rubbish collection and street sweeping rather than the plan to introduce parking permits, pave more city centre areas, erect a viewing tower as a tribute to the mayor's ego, tear down buildings to allow more car access and generally try and fix something that does not need fixing, it just needs servicing.
Yet Olhão still has attracted hundreds of foreign buyers in the past few years who delight in the charm of the city 'as is' and will not continue to buy in Olhão if this short-sighted modernisation continues.
This is what the council spectacularly fails to appreciate - nobody in Olhão wants to see it modernised, they do want to see if tidied up and an end to thick weeds growing out of the pavements when the council spends hundreds of thousands on ruining old cobbled squares and commissioning statues.
Have a look at the plans and see what you think...
AXO_SINTES start typing hereE_NORTE
The PDM plan for Olhao is available on the council's website
http://www.cm-olhao.pt/en/destaques/1204-aberto-periodo-de-audiencia-publica-para-revisao-do-pdm
