Demolitions of illegal homes have begun at Praia de Faro, with at least six families still refusing to leave as the government moves ahead with the first phase of its coastal requalification plan for the Ancão peninsula.
The Minister for Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, was on site on Saturday morning (January 10) to oversee the start of the operation in the eastern section of Faro Beach, one of the Algarve’s most environmentally sensitive coastal areas. The works are taking place near the boardwalk that leads to the inlet, where several illegal structures remain.
The initial phase involves the demolition of 32 housing units located at the eastern and western ends of the beach. According to the minister, 17 structures are being removed on the eastern side and around 15 on the western side, following the voluntary agreement of most of the affected households.
Still, six or seven families continue to resist relocation, a situation the minister acknowledged while stressing that the process has so far been carried out without force.
The operation is part of a wider environmental rehabilitation project, with a total investment of around €1 million. About 62% of the budget is allocated to demolition and waste removal, with the remainder funding the restoration of the dune system, covering an area of approximately 4,000 square metres. This first phase is expected to be completed by April 2026.
Under the plan announced in January 2025, the government identified 49 structures for removal out of a total of 87 existing buildings at Faro Beach. With the current 32 demolitions, 38 occupied homes are expected to remain, after which dune renaturalisation will begin. These actions form part of a broader €20.2 million coastal protection package launched in 2025 for the Algarve.
Relocation efforts began last year with the construction of 49 social housing units in Montenegro, in the municipality of Faro. The housing complex, inaugurated in August 2025 by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, was fully funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and is intended for families who agreed to leave areas classified as Maritime Public Domain.
According to official figures, 26 of the 41 eligible households applied for rehousing, while others remain under assessment. The remaining resistance, the minister said, is largely among older residents who have lived in the area all their lives. “They were born here, they don’t want to move,” she explained, adding that younger residents have been far more willing to relocate.
