Following the extraordinarily successful and overwhelmingly positive Public Consultation undertaken last month to make the Lagoa Dos Salgados area near Armação da Pêra a Natural Reserve, (a Public Consultation which saw over 800 participations), the development company, Finalgarve S.A., has snuck in a counter proposal, also available for public consultation, that would make the whole idea of a Natural Reserve a travesty.
They propose that they should be allowed to build three hotels, a commercial centre and a golf course slap bang in the middle of the area so recently proposed as being the first new Portuguese Natural Reserve designated as such in the last twenty one years.
This would make any idea of a Natural Reserve a farce, and a successful application would fly in the face of the stated wishes of the vast majority of the many people who took the time and effort to struggle their way through the Public Consultation website so recently.
I urge everyone please to scupper their underhand and dastardly effort by making your feelings known on the Government’s website.
We’ve only got until the 18th Feb, so it’s urgent we write our opinions right now - there’s no time to lose!
Many of you contributed recently with your positive comments during December and January when the original Consultation was available, and I ask you to make another effort now with an equally negative comment on the latest Public Consultation.
It can be written in any language, and it’s remarkably easy if you follow these instructions.
1. Click on this link, https://participa.pt/pt/consulta/recape-do-projeto-das-infraestruturas-da-ue1-do-pp-da-praia-grande
2. If you haven’t already registered you’ll have to do so. This is a bit of a pain but you’ll have to go through with it. If you have already registered when you commented last month then skip the next few steps and go to point 13.
3. Click on “Registo” in the top right hand corner.
4. Click “Individual”
5. Fill in your name, (where it says “Nome”), your email address, choose a password, (minimum 12 characters but no need for capital letters, numbers or special characters), confirm your password and choose “Silves” in the following box named “Concelho”.
6. Go to bottom left corner and check the box that starts ‘Concordo…’
7. No need to fill in anything else on that page; just click “Submeter” in the bottom right corner.
8. Close down the page - you’ll open it again in a minute, but close it for the time being.
9. The Portal Participa site will send you an email straight away. Open it and click on the highlighted ‘Ativação de Registo’ link.
10. This’ll open up www.participa.pt again on a login page but DON’t use it. Just close the page completely and then open it up again by pasting in https://participa.pt/pt/consulta/recape-do-projeto-das-infraestruturas-da-ue1-do-pp-da-praia-grande in your browser.
11. Now click “Login” in the top right hand corner.
12. Fill in your email and password and hit "Entrar".
13. Click “Participar”.
14. On the right hand side click “Classificador” and choose “Discordância”.
15. Write your commentary in the large box. There’s plenty of room so feel free to politely let rip.
16. Click “Submeter” in the bottom right-hand corner.
17. That’s it - done - and many, many thanks to you from all of us thinking along lines of the greater good for us all and the future generations to come.