Every year, in August, it's the same thing in the Algarve: the temporary summer clubs make too much noise, neighbors complain, hotels receive complaints from customers, local authorities, which license these spaces, hide behind the law . The summer goes by, the clubs close, so that everything will continue the following year, just like…or almost.
That's what happened this summer, in Vilamoura, as the Público newspaper reported on the 21st, or at Praia da Rocha, with the Summer Experience space, by businessman Paulo Lopo.
The situation was denounced by the deputies of the Left Bloc João Vasconcelos and Jorge Costa, in a petition, dated 18 August, sent to the Minister of Environment.
In the document, the deputies stress having received «several complaints from residents and vacationers of Praia da Rocha (Portimão municipality), more specifically from the surroundings of the Fortaleza [in Santa Catarina], due to the excessive night noise caused by the “Summer Experience” event. , located on the sandy beach, next to the aforementioned Fortaleza».
The parliamentarians stress that this is "a recurring situation for several years", since 2007, when the Sasha Summer Sessions space, owned by Algarve businessman Luís Evaristo, opened in that same location. Since then, the temporary disco has always been open between the end of July and August, under «the responsibility of different promoters».
In 2014, Media Capital, which then explored the space to hold its summer parties linked to the various media of that group, “even ended up being condemned by the Court of Portimão due to complaints filed about excessive noise”.
In statements to the Sul Informação, the Algarvian Blocist deputy João Vasconcelos, who is also a councilor at the Portimão City Council, said that the majority of complaints this year come from «residents of the Fortaleza area, as well as owners of hotel units, such as Vila Lido, who even he showed me the documents referring to the refund he had to make this year, to customers who left because of excessive noise».
In their application to the Ministry of Environment, the parliamentarians refer that one of the situations of excessive noise described “is that, after 2:30 am, “it was possible to record continuous environmental noise values of 56.6 decibels for a measured residual noise value. on a day without an event, 42 decibels, which generates an inconvenience of the same 14.6 decibels for a legal limit of 3 decibels».
Questioned by Sul Informação, João Vasconcelos was unable to specify on what date and by which entity or company the noise measurement they mention was made, but he admitted that it was carried out «last year, by a technician connected to a certified company».
According to the application, the complaints presented have involved, over the years, «three petitions, letters and other complaints sent to the Municipality of Portimão, complaints to various authorities such as the Maritime Police, PSP and GNR, environmental associations and even to the Ministry of Environment'.
According to what the deputies describe, "the sound that comes from the beach hits the buildings and makes a ricochet, which causes great discomfort during the night and until dawn."
The contract for the exploration of the Bathing Unit 12, in Praia da Rocha, by the company Formula Positiva Unipessoal Lda, to install the Summer Experience space there, was unanimously approved at a Chamber meeting, including by the opposition councilors, that is, the Left Block (then represented by Paulo Félix de Oliveira), CDU (Nelson de Freitas) and Coligação Servir Portimão (José Pedro Caçorino).
Joaquim Castelão Rodrigues, vice-president of the Portimão Chamber, points out that, «according to the Law of Noise, any improvised venue that promotes activities for less than 30 days is exempt from complying with the noise obligations of other structures permanent'.
Even so, adds the mayor, “the Chamber requires the prosecutor to carry out noise measurements, which, in this case, are carried out on Avenida Tomás Cabreira, Praia da Rocha, and Ferragudo. They would not be obliged to carry out these measurements, but the Chamber, in order to give them the license, requires this, precisely in order to be able to control whether there is excess or not». The measurements, he explains, are made by "private companies certified for this purpose".
The report of the noise measurements, made by the Sonometria company, which the Sul Informação had access, indicates that on four of the days of the first week of activity in the «Summer Experience» space there was an exceeding of the maximum noise level by 1 decibel, that is, instead of the maximum 55 decibels allowed, 56 decibels were measured.
Also contacted by our newspaper, Isilda Gomes, mayor of Portimão, guaranteed that this year she received "fewer complaints than last year", when the space that was then called Búzios even announced the installation of a special tent, which would absorb everything the excessive noise…which apparently did not happen.
As for the complaints of this hot August 2016, «they came from the same old people», according to Castelão Rodrigues: the Casabela hotel, in Ferragudo, on the other side of the Arade estuary, but located practically in front of the leisure area on the sandy beach of the Rock, the guest houses Vila Lido, next to Fortaleza de Santa Catarina, and a resident of the same area. There was even a complaint from the Oriental Hotel.
President Isilda Gomes says she understands the "inconvenience of some people". But he argues that the purpose of creating these outdoor nightlife spaces is «to attract more tourists to Portimão and Praia da Rocha, to create more notoriety for our tourist destination, showing that we have a lot of and diversified offer. If we don't promote these summer events, it promotes Vilamoura and tourists flee there. Then the businessmen come to complain to the Chamber that nothing is done here…».
In the contract with the Positive Formula, in terms of compensation, in addition to the 30 euros that the company donated to social action institutions in the municipality (already delivered last week), it was also foreseen that the Summer Experience promoter would «develop actions to promote the tourist destination Portimão and the Summer 2016 events program in Portimão, with an impact of not less than 30 euros, namely through advertising insertions on radio, TV, internet, as well as reports in TV programs, magazines and newspapers of the specialty». In addition, 000% of the amount billed with the event must be delivered to the Municipality.
Meanwhile, the Summer Experience in Portimão, which started on the 29th of July, will end on the 27th of August, with the bulk of the closing parties scheduled for the nights and early mornings of 25th and 26th, today and tomorrow. The torment of neighbors and vacationers is almost over…but next year there could be more.
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