Faro Chamber cannot stop luxury condominium in Ria Formosa

O mayor of Faro recognized today the displeasure of the population with the construction of 28 luxury villas in the area of the riverside park, but guarantees there is no legal margin to stop the project, with license of 1990.

This is the project “The Waterfront”, located south of the railway line, on land integrated into the Ria Formosa Natural Park, which provides for the construction of 28 luxury houses, with prices from EUR 3.75 million, reads on the site of a real estate agency, consulted by Lusa.

The dissemination of promotional images of the project, in a video published this week by the agency, however erased, generated controversy on social networks and originated an online petition to demand its suspension, already subscribed, until 3:30 today, by more than 593 people.

In statements to journalists, the mayor of Faro, António Pina (PS), acknowledged that this publicity will have caused “displeasure” and “revolt” among the population, but stressed that the municipality cannot annul what has been approved for 36 years.

“Allotment has been approved since July 27, 1990,” said the mayor, clarifying that the infrastructure and lots for the dwellings were already prepared “for many years”, having been covered by vegetation.

The final receipt of that allotment by the municipality was made in 2005, when the urban operation “consolidated” and “is no longer in the process of being annulled”, António Pina supported.

The mayor, elected a year ago, recalled that the riverside park, a leisure area with pedestrian and cycling paths, was built around this allotment “in a concession area” given as a counterpart by its promoter, like the land, just above the railway, where the Theatre of Figures was erected.

The land of this allotment has already been closed, but the project of housing architecture, submitted to the House of Faro in October, has not yet been approved and is “in technical consideration” by the municipal services, said the vice president of the municipality.

Valentina Calixto, who accompanied the president in the statements to the media, considered that the allotment “was quadratic at the time”, more than three decades ago, because there were still no planning plans for the coastal edge and the natural park of Ria Formosa.

“Today, this operation would not be possible. If it were us, we would not see it with good eyes and we would certainly have negotiated with the owner at the time so that in that space there were no buildings and had been, in total, delivered to the riverside park ", stressed António Pina.

The mayor of Faro assured, however, that the trails of the riverside park will continue to be public access and that that area will not be transformed into a private condominium.

The project, whose license initially belonged to a Portuguese businessman, today has as promoter the company Glensee Properties, based in Albufeira.

The firm that has as sole partner the company Grimpeur Holdings, based on the Isle of Man, according to data available on the portal of publications of corporate acts of the Ministry of Justice, consulted by Lusa.