Pedro Coelho, Mayor of Câmara de Lobos, listed this morning, at the Madeira Press Museum, on the occasion of the 188th anniversary of the municipality, a series of investments that are or will be on the table including the controversial Curral das Freiras cable car.
“The will of a people must always take precedence over ideological issues and partisan fundamentalisms. It is necessary, in the name of territorial cohesion, to develop all territories in a fair and equitable way, “he said, understanding that it must follow the legal procedures, complying with all environmental requirements.
“If this [cable car] does not happen for reasons that have nothing to do with environmental issues, but simply for fundamentalism, ‘someone’ will have to take responsibility for having been barred the possibility of further development for the parish and its people,” he said.
Manuel Pedro Freitas, President of the Municipal Assembly of Câmara de Lobos, also took up the issue., stating. “With significant tourist interest, but also with great impact on the settlement of its inhabitants in the locality, the installation of the cable car of Curral das Freiras has already been internalised by the curraleiros as a given, and therefore, they hope that it can be included in the next government programme,” he noted, considering that “it makes perfect sense” that it be subject to environmental impact studies, “as some environmentalists argue, on the assumption that these studies also take into account the humans who reside there and whose presence dates back to the fifteenth century.”
Manuel Pedro Freitas understands, therefore, that if the environmental impact does not take into account the supreme and inalienable interests of the local population and constitutes a reason for the impracticability of the project in question and the loss of the unique opportunity to settle people, create jobs and wealth, “perhaps it makes sense to evaluate the economic and social consequences resulting therefrom and its population to be compensated for the damages caused.”
Also with regard to the the area, Pedro Coelho expects, in partnership with the Regional Government, to present by the end of the 1st semester of next year, the definitive project for the future Local Civil Protection Unit.
As for the Jardim da Serra, the municipality plans to start the renovation and restoration work on the parish centre after completing the execution project prepared by the technical services of the City Council.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
