Environmental association Quercus and the Algarve Trade and Commerce Association both have strongly opposed the inadequate environmental impact study presented by Swedish multinational IKEA in support of its planning application for a retail park near Loulé.
Today sees the end of the public consultation period, and the two associations have expressed “outrage and disgust" and propose that the impact study should be rejected for many reasons, the main one being that the study, unsurprisingly, only looks at the economic benefits of the scheme and does not dwell on the impact to the environment.
This is because IKEA is paying for the study, as developers do, and it will get the result it is paying for.
"Quercus and ACRAL once again express their outrage and disgust with the intention to implement this project in an area formerly classified as National Agricultural Reserve, which was changed for the sole purpose of satisfying interest groups and a business which has influence with the government," said the associations in a joint statement which transmits the distress felt when to national and local government rided rough-shod over laws put in place to protect the environment.
The applicable planning laws should "safeguard nature, heritage, environment, landscape and biodiversity values," but in reality, "It is a project that is not going to protect and conserve the natural environment and landscape, in that it provides for the complete destruction of same at this site."
Almargem says the IKEA process is "yet another example of how the planning system should not work," and that this case is a complete reversal of the normal planning procedure as the public interest in this private project is stressed throughout and promoted by the partial attitude and actions of the former councillors of Loulé who were in favour of the scheme from day one.
Almargem says this case, and there are many other current examples, shows the complete subversion of the planning processes by the promotion of the private interests of business, which is completely contrary to local planning rules and ignores the public interest.
The local planning framework for Loulé shows there are other areas that are perfectly for this type of development, a fact which was completely ignored by the previous Loulé council and which has led to accusations of local corruption - who benefitted from the land sale at the current site?
Quercus and ACRAL refer to the "pernicious potential effects of the IKEA development on the local economy and for the Algarve’s communities," and " the negative environmental and economic impacts that far outweigh the positive impacts."
The licensing of the project can only be granted after the Environmental Impact Study gets the rubber stamp by the Secretary of State for the Environment who has a history of protecting business rather than the environment.
