A residents’ group has filed a complaint with the European Commission over plans for one of Lisbon’s increasingly rare undeveloped sites.
The nearly five-hectare plot at Rua de Artilharia 1, beside Amoreiras, contains the derelict former Artillery Barracks No. 1 and has been earmarked by Novo Banco for a major development featuring 683 homes, offices, shops and public facilities.
However, the Artilharia Um civic movement is challenging the decision to exempt the project from an environmental impact assessment, arguing that a development of this scale in an area considered sensitive should face greater scrutiny.
Plans include 683 homes, almost 47,200 square metres of office space and 6,830 square metres of retail space. A further 1,200 square metres would be set aside for public facilities on a plot transferred to Lisbon Council.
At the centre of the dispute is a decision by the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-LVT) to exempt the project from an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Campaigners argue that a new development of this size in an area considered environmentally sensitive would normally require an EIA. However, they say the project avoided that requirement because it was classified as an amendment to an existing development.
The group has also submitted a request to the Public Prosecutor’s Office asking it to assess several legal aspects of the plans.
These include the validity of the existing planning permission, compliance with Lisbon’s Municipal Master Plan following the revocation of the Artilharia Um Detailed Plan, and the absence of a requirement to include land for affordable housing.
The revised project increases the proposed number of homes from 570 to 683.
Artilharia Um stressed that residents are not opposed to redeveloping the derelict former barracks site, provided the work proceeds “in accordance with the rules”.
The movement has gathered more than 500 signatures for a petition challenging aspects of the project. Around 200 submissions were also made during the public consultation, but the resulting report has yet to be published, according to the group.
Source: Lusa