The association Almargem asks, in a communiqué released this Thursday, October 19, that the «people in charge of the Municipality of Lagos promote, with the utmost urgency, a broad public discussion» around the works, which have already started, in Ponta da Piedade.
According to that association, “if, in 2015, the lamentable destruction of the idyllic and natural landscape of Praia de Dona Ana apologized for the concern to ensure the safety of people against the risk of the cliffs collapsing, the ongoing intervention in Ponta da Piedade is based on an alleged attempt to reduce the impact of visitors on fragile coastal ecosystems”.
The project, which has now advanced at the initiative of the Ministry of Environment, is supported by the Municipality of Lagos, and was conceived by «HB, a landscape architecture company – almost exclusively involved in urban parks and projects. resorts tourist attractions, including the “Cascade Resort” – which also made itself available to financially support this project because its owners own a good part of the land around Ponta da Piedade», says Almargem.
The first phase of the works, between the “Cascade Resort” and Ponta da Piedade, is already on the ground (with completion scheduled for the last quarter of this year). The idea is to create «wooden walkways and gravel floors covered with porous concrete», says Almargem.
“Either one or the other of these interventions have significant negative impacts on the environment,” he adds.
Such as? «The introduction of barriers and visual elements that disfigure the natural landscape, greater impermeability of the soil and some destruction of the rocky substrate and surrounding vegetation».
«On the other hand, they do not in any way prevent the continuation of excessive access by visitors to other paths, especially those closer to the edge of the cliffs», considers the association.
The most adequate solution, according to Almargem, «and, obviously, much less costly for the public purse, would be to guarantee the good maintenance of the main paths, marking them with small stakes and ropes, in addition to promoting the growth of natural vegetation on the remaining accesses and paths in order to discourage their use».
As soon as the Municipality of Lagos announced its intention to move forward with this project, Almargem proposed that it be brought to the attention of citizens through a public presentation.
"Unfortunately, this proposal was not accepted by the Municipality, which limited itself to following the ideas of the APA and HB, with the results that are now in plain sight".
In addition to the ongoing works, a second, much larger phase is planned, «with the intention of replicating the same type of interventions along the coastline between Ponta da Piedade and Praia de Dona Ana».
The situation here becomes “even more worrying”. According to Almargem, «at least two of the owners of the land involved want to ensure a profitable deal, having already illegally fenced their land, which prevents the passage of walkers on the existing tracks, and seeking to ensure that, of two or three old ruins, located in the middle of the natural protection of the cliffs, give rise to the greatest possible number of luxurious houses».
Adding to this, «the extension of the Ponta da Piedade road is planned, which would promote an unsustainable increase in access to this emblematic area of the municipality of Lagos».
In this public discussion suggested by Almargem, the idea was to take the opportunity to «do a critical analysis of the first phase in progress, ensuring the best of consensus on the second phase of the intervention that is planned».
“Only in this way, the name of Sophia de Mello Breyner can be associated, in a respectful and fair way, to this work”, he concludes.
At the inauguration for a new term at the head of the Chamber of Lagos, last week, Joaquina Matos (PS) he also spoke of these works, promising: "we will continue the requalification of Ponta da Piedade", which he presented as a "sustainable intervention", "aimed at the requalification of the space".
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