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CCDR Blocks 1,279-Bed Tourist Complex on Algarve Coast
10 December 2018
Authorities vetoed a tourist development planned for an area located near the Benagil and da Marinha beaches in Lagoa, 300 meters from the coast, the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) announced.
The Environmental Impact Study of the project, which included the construction of a hotel, a tourist resort and a five-star aparthotel in a zone near the cliffs of Benagil, with a total of 1,279 beds, was vetoed due to an expected negative impact on biodiversity and the landscape and by contributing to increasing overcrowding in an area where the beaches are already experiencing high demand.
The Commission for the Evaluation of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA), chaired by the CCDR/Algarve, concluded that the project “would induce very significant and non-minimizable negative impacts,” affecting the whole coastline “between Carvalho beach and Senhora da Rocha, where the beaches’ capacity, in the face of current levels of demand, has already reached its limit.”
In a statement, the CCDR/Algarve said that the project had “negative impacts due to the strong visual intrusion” in an area “whose artificiality does not appear justified and whose preservation is necessary”, reasons that led to the issuance of an unfavourable environmental impact statement.
“If it were executed, we believe that the project would have a negative impact on biodiversity, given that the location in question is part of the natural distribution area of the Linaria algarviana species, which is already under intense pressure,” said the statement.
That plant species is only found in western Algarve and has legal protection status, and the region adjacent to the proposed development” is one of its most representative population centres,” the CCDR stated.
The implementation of the project would also quintuple the current level of road traffic in that area of the municipality of Lagoa, Faro district, it added.
The project included the replacement of part of the Municipal Road (CM) 1273 and its improvement between Caramujeira and Benagil, as well as the construction of two public parking lots near Benagil beach.
The Environmental Impact Study can be viewed (in Portuguese) at http://participa.pt/consulta.jsp?loadP=2251.
Original Story: Sapo 24 / MadreMedia / Lusa
Translation: Richard Turner