Speaking to The Portugal News this week, Porches Parish Mayor Luís Bento said his concerns are based on the fact that the reconstruction project currently being assessed does not include clauses to protect what is one of the town’s most famous assets.
He further said that despite assurances from Lagoa Town Hall, under which Porches Parish falls, studies indicate the chimney will be substantially weakened by the extensive reconstruction work.
“Where [the chimney] is mentioned in the project, and while it does not foresee its demolition, it says that should demolition occur a replica will be made. Nor does [the project] mention precautions to be had for the chimney’s preservation and we are very concerned about this situation”, Luís Bento explained.
In 2015, a motion was sent to Lagoa Council as well as to the Municipal Assembly, which Luís Bento claims “has so far gone unacknowledged.”
Stressing that while the Parish “is not in confrontation with any of the parties involved” Luís Bento adds: “If necessary we will go to the Institute for the Management of Architectural and Archaeological Heritage (IGESPAR) to ensure that the project includes the safeguarding of [the chimney’s] preservation, and thus would entail a very large fine in the case of demolition.”
Porches is renowned not only for its pottery but also for its decorative and elaborate chimneys, the most famous of which is a ‘doll’ chimney located in the centre of the town.
The chimney at the heart of the dispute is located between the ‘Doll Chimney’ and the acclaimed O Leão Restaurant, in front of the local Parish Hall.
“In a region that increasingly sells tourism, we must safeguard our monuments, and our history, our heritage. We want our heritage and not replicas”, Mr. Bento concluded.
In a statement sent to The Portugal News, Lagoa Town Hall clarified that the owner of the building the chimney is on, Porches Church, “asked for the collaboration of technicians from local authority services in order to proceed with the compiling of a pre-project to renovate the property in view of its current state of degradation.”
According to Lagoa council, that process has not been followed through and so far, no formal request for alterations to the building have been submitted, “for which reason Lagoa Municipal Council has not yet issued a decision on the matter.”
However, the municipal authority said, “given the motion put forward and approved in January 2015 in the Porches Parish Assembly, and of which the Mayor of Lagoa was made aware, it should be noted that despite the property not belonging to the municipal heritage, when a licensing application is submitted the municipality will ensure the preservation of the element (chimney), in respect of it being an asset to historical heritage and a characteristic of Porches’ identity.”