TV crews were on hand in Olhão this morning to film the latest ‘island struggle’ by Ria Formosa householders desperate to save their homes.
This time the spotlight was on the island of Armona – previously thought ‘so safe’ by foreigners busily snapping up plots and old buildings.
But it isn’t safe – at least not yet – as joint property owners Paul Roseby and James Tod have discovered to a huge degree of personal agony.
An invisible line runs through Armona, meaning that some properties fall under Olhão council’s jurisdiction and some (roughly 140) don’t.
Roseby and Tod’s story has been told by the Resident (click here) and picked up by national and international media.
The bottom line is that their dream home-from-home is to be demolished despite the fact that it was given all the permissions its owners thought they needed.
And if that happens, the two men’s neighbours are under no illusions: the future of all the other homes on the ‘wrong side of the invisible line’ will go exactly the same way.
Said Portuguese Bruno Gomes: “I bought a property on the island two years ago. No one told us about this ‘invisible line’. We only discovered it when Paul and James started having problems. It means we were swindled. We were literally swindled into paying out money that we could soon have nothing to show for.”
President of Armona residents association António Lança suggests the issue has become a political hot potato and has very little to do with any kind of logic.
“It’s very simple”, he told us as the crowd holding placards in Portuguese and English listened to speeches outside the town hall. “Sebastião Teixeira wanted blood to flow on Culatra island, and he didn’t get it. So now he wants blood on Armona”.
To explain: Teixeira – the Algarve head of APA (Portuguese environment agency) – is seen locally as a kind of island equivalent to Lord Voldemort, from the Harry Potter saga.
As a former head of Polis Litoral, he pushed through endless bids to demolish fishermen’s homes on the communities of Farol and Hangares.
When environment minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes finally stepped in and called ‘time’, Teixeira handed in his resignation, and islanders (briefly) celebrated.
But Teixeira remained in his position at APA, and therein lies the rub.
It was Teixeira who signed Roseby and Tod’s demolition order, and Teixeira’s institution that has won the resulting court action (click here).
But in the spirit of all good storytelling, this is not how it has to end – at least that is the opinion of Olhão’s mayor António Pina, Teixeira’s arch rival in the Culatra struggle where islanders consider him a total hero.
And Pina emerged from the town hall today to invite protestors inside to give them an ‘update’.
Roseby and Tod’s house is still standing, he stressed. He is meeting with the environment minister to discuss this problem on Monday, and has “a lot of confidence” in the outcome.
“I cannot say I am 200% certain, because I cannot be certain until it is printed in Diário da República (State newspaper where laws are printed)”, he told the chamber packed with people who had filed up the stairs from the protest.
“But I am confident, and I have confidence in the good sense of the Minister of the Environment”.
It was as much as people were going to get, and it signifies a Nutcracker Suite of fancy footwork behind the scenes.
The outcome Pina is hoping for is the passing of a new territorial plan for Armona.
Dubbed a PIR, standing for plan of intervention and requalification, it would (if agreed on by Minister Matos Fernandes) basically remove Armona’s invisible line, and make all the homes legal under Olhão council jurisdiction.
Could this be possible? According to Pina, he has already worked wonders for the islanders of Farol and Hangares, the council is stumping up €2.5 million to bring sanitation and water to Armona, the ‘message is loud and clear’: he can fix this problem too.
Do Armona’s protestors believe him? “We would love to”, say Roseby and Tod – but they are very glad of today’s show of action.
It brought the issue neatly to the boil on a hot August day, six weeks before crucial council elections.
If Pina CAN pull this rabbit out of the hat, his PS Socialist party will score a coup at precisely the right time to influence voters in an important regional council in which Socialist victory otherwise is by no means assured.
