The Vale da Telha Detail Plan process has been “complex, very hard and difficult”, but everything indicates that it is almost over, to the satisfaction of all interested parties, said José Gonçalves, mayor of Aljezur, in interview with Sul Informação.
When the Plan is ready and approved, it will be submitted for public discussion. At the same time, the mayor guarantees that «he has worked with various tutelages, particularly with regard to the Plan's Financing plan, in order to include it in the Algarve's Regional Investment Strategy».
Because, in addition to promoting the organization of what is, admits José Gonçalves, «certainly the biggest urban imbroglio we have in the country», the Plan will also provide for the necessary works so that the 500 hectares of Vale da Telha cease to be chaotic and without infrastructure.
"We estimate that 30 to 40 million euros are needed to carry out these interventions, in areas such as infrastructure, mainly the sewage system, streets, etc," revealed the mayor of Aljezur.
“Possibly, it will be necessary to create its own office to dedicate itself to Vale da Telha”, he added.
Provided for in no. 3, of Article 42, of the Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 11-B/2011, of 4 February, the Detailed Plan for Vale da Telha is being carried out by a team outside the Municipality of Aljezur, following a planning contract, signed by this municipality on January 16, 2012.
But, stresses José Gonçalves, «since the approval of the Terms of Reference on December 10, 2009, the elaboration of the Plan has undergone advances and many other setbacks».
The first external entity contracted to make the Plan was Parque Expo. But the City Council of Aljezur found itself "obliged and under the contingency to terminate, unilaterally, the established contract", because the proposal of this state company "does not defend the interests of the owners, residents and consequently of the municipality".
This is because, adds the mayor, the Parque Expo proposal “foresees not only the impossibility of further construction, but also countless demolitions of houses already built”.
As the Municipality of Aljezur explains, the Terms of Reference for the elaboration of the Plan were defined «following a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the time, with the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development and the Municipality of Aljezur» .
This Memorandum established “the lines of action regarding the articulation between the then review of the Land Use Plan for the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina and the municipality's land use strategy, in order to promote a definitive solution for Vale da Telha , based on a model of urban design, which would harmonize the different existing commitments».
Now, the mayor emphasizes, «this Parque Expo proposal did not harmonize the different commitments that existed, so we had to terminate them».
The preparation of the Plan was then handed over to a new external company, Biodesign, which has been dealing with the matter in recent years.
However, in January 2012, the Municipality of Aljezur signed a Program Contract with Inácio Estácio dos Santos, the businessman «who bought the bankruptcy estate of Vale da Telha», so that he would pay for the preparation of the Detailed Plan project for Vale da Telha. “This gentleman pays for the Detailed Plan, as he is one of the largest owners in the area, but the responsibility for drafting the PP remains with the Chamber,” explained José Gonçalves.
On March 14, 2017, the Municipality of Aljezur «was in a position to establish a reference framework for the definition of construction densities compatible with the urban and environmental requalification of Vale da Telha, a fact of which the respective tutelage was made aware. ».
About two years later, on February 12, 2019, the Municipality made a public presentation of all the work carried out so far.
On November 8 of the same year, the Chamber delivered the first version of the Plan to the Regional Coordination and Development Committee and asked for a 'procedural conference' to be held, following which the CCDR Algarve requested opinions from all entities with jurisdiction in Vale da Telha, namely ICNF and Natural Park, among others.
In view of the opinions issued by the various entities, the Municipality of Aljezur asked Biodesign, the external company responsible for preparing the Plan, to review the proposal, with a view to making it compatible with these opinions, «namely the compliance with the urban indexes, already transmitted , and the need to prepare an Environmental Impact Study».
Finally, on the 17th of June, there was a meeting between the Biodesign team, the municipality and the CCDR Algarve, to review the situation.
After the work of alterations has been completed, in order to make the Detailed Plan compatible with the opinions of the various entities, the document will again be submitted to a procedural check, that is, for evaluation by the CCDR Algarve.
Culminating a process that has dragged on for "too many years", President José Gonçalves says he says "that the City Council can, as soon as possible, approve the Final Proposal of the Detailed Plan and submit it to Public Discussion". When that will be, it remains to be seen for sure.
The Aljezurense mayor says that he feels "in the entities involved in this complex process a great desire to resolve the issue of Vale da Telha." For his part, he guarantees, "every day I answer those who ask me how the process is going, letting them know what we are doing." But this is, underlines, «certainly, in the national current, the most complex Spatial Planning Plan that is being executed».
Proving the complexity of the Vale da Telha case, this urbanization has even led to the conviction in court of the two former mayors of Aljezur – José Amarelinho and Manuel Marreiros. both were sentenced, in 2012, to suspended prison sentences and loss of mandate, in a case involving licensing in the urbanization of Vale da Telha.
However, the owners of Vale da Telha, an urbanization created in 1973 by businessman Sousa Cintra and always shrouded in illegalities, hope that the Detailed Plan in preparation for almost a decade will finally allow them to build their dream or make their investment profitable. .
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