Locals are concerned the “small quiet beach, used by local families for generations” will now be turned into “a private zone for paying clients”, and are calling for an embargo.
The council architect had originally given favourable assent to the project first submitted by the plot’s former owner in 1987. But Lagoa Council subsequently rejected the application after the Regional Algarve Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) deliberated that “given the sensitivity of the spot” only “strictly-necessary” development, as foreseen in a study approved by the City Council in 1962, should be given the green light.
Lagoa council had successively denied permission to develop the pretty beachside locale ever since, despite it being private land.
Thirty years of injunctions, appeals and counter-appeals ensued, finally coming to a head in 2016 when the Constitutional Court rejected Lagoa Council’s final move.
Exhausted of any possible recourse, the Council was left with no choice but to abide by the high court’s order and grant permission.
In 2017, 30 years after the arm wrestle started, licensing was finally conceded for construction work to move ahead.
The new beach bar – to be named Edd’s Beach, after the developer Edwin Opstelten – will comprise a restaurant, bar and pool, having a total covered area of 90.6 m2 and a developed area of 259.3 m2.
Enraged locals say excavation for the project has turned the previously “green hillside” into “something resembling an open cast mine”, and are querying why the project was allowed to move ahead.
They are calling for works to be halted, arguing “it is located in an Ecologic Green Zone, where building is not allowed”.
They fear the project will “severely restrict the use of this beach by the general public, as there will be little, or no, vehicle access to areas which will be designated ‘Private’”, and claim “prior notice of this project was not given”, to allow for public consultation.
The project is expected to be completed by February next year.
In an email sent to The Portugal News, Lagoa Council stressed “the decision of the Court overrules the wishes of the Council.”
A spokesperson said council inspectors are “keeping an eye on the project” to make sure it does not exceed the granted dimensions, and explained that as permission for development was granted on a court order, public consultation of the project does not come into play.
Regarding access to the beach, the spokesperson said “no one can impede access” to it, but admitted reaching the sands “might not be as comfortable or as capacious” as it has been until now.