The Minister for the Sea seems to have wasted no time in pushing through a series of funding and development initiatives during her visit to the Algarve last week, not least the sharing of the management and responsibility of Vila Real’s riverside areas with the local council.
Ana Paula Vitorino wants to start sharing the management of Portugal’s coastal areas so that both government and councils are involved in making the most of areas that often are transfixed by out-of-date laws, zoning issues, land use restrictions and bureaucratic lethargy.
The minister wants to move quickly and has chosen Vila Real de Santo António as a testing ground for her new cooperative style that will allow the council to boost tourism and better serve local businesses by redeveloping its riverside industrial area to the south of the city.
Vitorino was in Vila Real de Santo António last Friday and met the mayor, Luís Gomes, to firm up the cooperative agreement that will see Vila Real as the first council in the country to co-manage its waterfront
"The management of coastal zones can not be done from the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon. It can be managed through partnership, or management contracts, but needs the involvement of the Councils" said the minister.
The mayor of Vila Real’s council is excited about the prospect of being able to decide on the future of the riverside area.
"It is indeed good news, but it is not a surprise, because I have know the minister for many years and know she is a person who is right and qualified for the position she holds. Finally, we have a member of the Government hitting the ground in the mood to do things and with concrete ideas," said Gomes, adding that “We know very well what we want and we are ready to start working, tomorrow."
The mayor’s plan is to create an area to the north of the city that will be dedicated to the maritime economy where existing and new business can move to and create products linked to the sea, alongside shipbuilding and ship repair.
The shipyards currently are in an area south of the city that the mayor now wants to develop for tourism as there is a national forest and a beach at Ponta da Areia.
"We want also to launch a project related to our industrial heritage to preserve some of the factories, but also to build new housing and tourist areas near the sea wall zone," added Gomes.
The VRSA council also intends to landscape the green areas and create new recreational zones south of the current marina.
Olhão’s Mayor António Pina was party to the discussions in Vila Real and now urgently wants to see the minister to discuss the development of Olhão’s sea front as a tourist area, averse as he is to traditional sectors involving anything to do with agriculture or fishing.
