In the first week of April 2015 news was released that an affiliate of the American 'Lone Star Real Estate Fund III' had acquired the Vilamoura resort and building land for just €200 million, a significant reduction on the €380 million paid to resort development legend André Jordan in 2004.
To any developer, the jewell in the crown is the proposed Lacustre resort area due to be excavated and flooded to make way for a series of lakes connected to the existing Vilamoura marina and surrounded by a resort with 3,000 new beds.
Eco-guardians of the Algarve, Almargem has presented its objections to this project to the European Commission, claiming that the building works will "destroy habitats and agricultural land," according to environmentalist Luís Bras.
The project is an old one and has been sitting on the drawing board for 20 years and has had council approval for 15 of them. The 36 hectare site is destined for the construction of several building projects that will be connected by a series of artificial lakes.
Despite serious environmental concerns the project received a favorable opinion in April 2015 from the secretary of State for Tourism and from the Secretary of State for Forestry and Rural Development.
The government’s statements justifying its decision were pretty weak, with reasons including ‘there were no alternative locations for the project,’ and referring to ‘the current fall in the value of the agricultural land as it is not being used’ and ‘the destruction of the land can bring benefits in the form of compensatory measures,’ measures which are not on offer.
Almargem says the government acknowledges the high agricultural value of the land in question yet at the same time is allowing one of the Algarve’s largest remaining farms to be destroyed.
Luís Brás says the project will change for ever an important section of Class A agricultural land which is becoming a rarity in the Algarve, and will destroy the Vilamoura reed beds which are an important habitat for birds in what is recognised internationally as an ‘Important Bird Area.’
The government opinion issued in April claimed there was significant 'public interest' in turning National Agricultural Reserve land into 36 hectares of luxury housing for the Lacustre project. The public has not been invited to comment and many would see as much public interest in properly managing the land as a natural environment, rather than yet more luxury housing and rows of seasonal retail outlets.
Almargem criticises the developer’s arguments as presented to the government and says that the fact the land is not currently being cultivated should be no reason for its destruction, also that the Environmental Impact Study only assessed the impact of the construction of the lakes and canals without taking into account the cumulative impact of the whole project – the usual developer’s trick, as usual the developer was paying for the study.
Agreeing that that use of agricultural land is a matter for nation states, Bras expects the destruction of the reed beds which house various bird species to be studied in depth by the European Commission.
"We are talking about one of the largest patches of Portuguese reed beds, part of it already has disappeared to make way for some of Vilamoura’s infrastructure and the bulk of what remains will disappear with this project," noted Bras who points out also that there is no compensation ordered or offered by the developer for the destruction of this rare habitat.
The environmentalist believes that the Lacustre project is a nonsense at a time when tourism facilities are in oversuppy and when there is a commitment to diversify the Algarve’s tourism offer with niche markets under the umbrella of ‘nature tourism.’
Juan Pepa, Lone Star’s managing director for Spain and Portugal, said that “Vilamoura represents a unique opportunity for international investors looking to capitalise on the ongoing recovery of Portugal and its real estate sector.”
So, natural environment or luxury housing? - you decide.
See also:
http://www.algarvedailynews.com/property-news/5246-vilamoura-was-sold-for-just-200-million
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