Despite agreeing «globally» with the concept of Rural Tourism of the new project for Quinta da Rocha, located in the heart of the Ria de Alvor, the environmentalists of the A Rocha association claim that «the promoters insist on the repetition of some vices of the previous one. administration' of that sensitive area.
this is the second public consultation on the project to create a tourism enterprise (TER) in Quinta da Rocha, in Ria de Alvor, in Portimão, ends precisely today, the 17th of October, after being reformulated by its promoters, the new owners of a company that has already been convicted of environmental crimes in that same zone.
The association for the defense of the environment, which for decades has been dedicated to studying and protecting the Ria de Alvor, participated in this public consultation and makes some criticisms, especially to what is not said or is hidden in the process, by the prosecutors.
«Finally, Quinta da Rocha is the object of a project which, as a concept (Tourism in Rural Areas), we classify as globally positive and which we consider to be compatible with the values of the natural and built heritage that it has in its interior and in the Natura 2000 site in which it is inserted», says A Rocha in a statement sent to Sul Informação.
However, the association defends in the note signed by Marcial Felgueiras, executive director of A Rocha, “prosecutors insist on the repetition of some vices of the previous administration, which consists of introducing false technical elements, ignoring the official maps of the Natura 2000 Network and opting for for presenting “their own” mappings».
In these "mappings", it is noted "the elimination of a priority conservation habitat", "among other changes".
Therefore, warns Marcial Felgueiras, «with the history of these promoters, it is only logical to anticipate that these cartographies intend to function as “Trojan Horses”, in the expectation that with the approval of the project, convenient changes to official cartographies will also be approved and made official” .
The association also denounces that «another false (and particularly important) element in this project is the allegation that Quinta da Rocha only partially integrates the Rear area of the Protected Land Zone (which, if true, would allow future advances with new buildings)'.
Now, defends A Rocha, «as any citizen can verify through the tool http://idealg.ccdr-alg.pt/ren.aspx, the reality is that 99.9% of the property is located in the Land Protection Zone, where they are not new constructions are allowed”, demolishing the claim of the promoters.
The environmental protection association adds, in the statement signed by Marcial Felgueiras, that “it is our hope that the competent authorities do not let these “Trojan Horses” pass and demand that these elements be corrected, so that repeated lies often do not change. in truths».
And this is because, they add, «these corrections (1) are easy, (2) do not imply any costs for the promoter, (3) allow the implementation of this project and (4) translate into clear gains for the conservation of natural values presence and for a clearly differentiated and sustainable tourism».
The company that proposes to build the enterprise of the “Turismo em Espaço Rural” typology in Quinta da Rocha, Water View SA, is nothing more, nothing less than the successor da Butwell – Trading, Services and Investments, which changed its name in 2016, after having been sentenced to pay a high fine and restore the natural values that it destroyed over the years.
In early 2016, Butwell, owned by businessman Aprígio Santos, saw rejected by the Portimão Chamber its project for the Tourist Development Center (NDT) of the Ria de Alvor.
Learn more about this process and access the full public participation submitted by A Rocha, by clicking on this link (PDF).
Click here to access the Participa.pt platform, through which you can participate in the public consultation on the project.
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