Rogério Bacalhau says everything was done “in good faith”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has accused the mayor of Faro and a local councilwoman of a crime related to the illegal approval of a motorhome park, reports SIC Notícias.
According to the television news channel, the Regional Department of Investigation and Penal Action in Évora “has no doubts that urban regulations” were violated, accusing everyone involved in the greenlighting of the project, including Faro mayor Rogério Bacalhau and councillor Sophie Matias.
SIC Notícias adds that the prosecutor is even calling for the suspects to be banned from public office.
“I received the process with all the favourable opinions from (municipal) services and approvals, so if it were today, I would approve the process, as any colleague of mine would,” mayor Bacalhau told SIC Notícias, contesting the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s claim that he and his colleagues knew that they were violating urban regulations.
All those accused have already protested the accusation, claiming that the Coastal Area Management Plan (POOC) regulations do not apply to the area in question.
“There is that dispute between us and APA (Portuguese Environmental Agency), and the Public Prosecutor’s Office has decided to accuse us because they tell us we violated the POOC rules,” Bacalhau said, stressing that he does not believe the accusation will go much further because everything was done “in good faith”.
The case dates back to January 2019 when the project for the motorhome park was greenlight despite being situated on agricultural land within the POOC boundaries, SIC Notícias explains.
The change in land use went against the plan’s directives, it adds, all without consulting APA. The agency only voiced its opposition after local residents lodged complaints, by which time the project was well underway.
It was only in January 2023 that police inspectors stormed the town hall, searching for all documents related to the approval of the park.
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
