The classification process, with a national degree, of the «Fábrica do Inglês, including its gardens and integrated movable heritage, including that of the Cork Museum» of Silves, that is, its estate, has already been opened by the Board -General of Cultural Heritage (DGCP). The announcement of the opening of the procedure was published in Diário da República, on April 14th.
The intention to move towards this national classification process had been announced in February, by the director of the Cultural Goods Service of the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve, during the Forum «The Future of the Cork Museum», which took place in Silves, like the Sul Informação then revealed it firsthand.
From what our newspaper found, the exact degree of classification of the Factory, the former Museum and its estate, with a statute that may be of immovable property of national interest or of public interest, in both cases in the categories of monument or complex , will be decided by the National Council of Culture, as proposed by the DGPC. The final decision will be made by the Minister of Culture, by ordinance or decree.
In this case, since this is a classification procedure with a national degree, despite being obligatorily consulted, the owners, even if they are opposed, do not prevent the process from going forward. In fact, the deadlines for filing complaints and appeals are, respectively, 6 May and 30 May.
Hence, even if the company Grupo Nogueira current owner of the collection of the Museu da Cortiça de Silves if it opposes the classification, it will not be able to impede the progress of the procedure, as happened before, when the Chamber of Silves made a first attempt to classify the collection of the museological structure, as of municipal interest.
As long as the national procedure, launched by the DGPC, lasts, "property under classification and immovable property located in the general protection zone (50 meters from its external limits)" may not undergo any alteration.
The most curious thing about this issue is that, regarding the Cork Museum estate, purchased in May 2014 by a Nogueira Group company, there are currently two classification processes underway: one launched by the Municipality of Silves last October (this is its second attempt), as of municipal interest; and this one, launched by the DGPC, after a proposal by the Portuguese Association of Industrial Archeology (APAI) and the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve, as being of national interest.
The fact that this second process was started, under the responsibility of the DGPC (formerly Igespar), did not stop what the municipality of Silvense had started, but rather reinforced it.
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