The musicians filed a petition to the Chamber of Porto with a request to reconsider the position on the closure of the Stop

The musicians of the Stop shopping center at 12:25 p.m. launched a public petition, which had about 1,700 subscribers, in which they call on the Chamber of Porto to reevaluate its position and recognize the “inestimable value” of this space.

“We call on the Porto City Council to reconsider its position, to reflect on its actions and to recognize the invaluable value of the musicians and the Stop shopping center to the culture of the city,” reads a public petition created on Saturday.

The Chamber of Porto has contacted Lusa and sent clarifications to the Municipal Security Council, which will be held this Monday at 15:00, which will deal with this topic.

In the petition, which had 1,691 signatures as of 12:25 p.m., the musicians also ask for “transparency and impartiality in the city’s process”, which is being handled by the municipality, to ensure that it is “guided by the principles of honesty, equality and fairness”. “.

“We cannot ignore threats of its closure, as well as fears that the urban process associated with this threat of evacuation lacks greater transparency and seems to be undermined by interests that go beyond the preservation of culture and musical heritage,” they cite.

In the petition, the musicians also express “deep concern” about the “imminent threat of evacuation” of the mall.

“Porto deserves a future where culture and transparency can flourish together, where the musical heritage is protected and where citizens’ voices and their civic space are respected,” they add.

In the opinion, which Lusa had access to on Friday, the municipality’s legal services are defending the closure of the premises and the intention to take precautionary measures against the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI). ).

The Stop, which has been operating as a cultural space with rehearsal rooms and studios for over 20 years, closed most of its bands on July 18, leaving nearly 500 artists and shop owners with nowhere to go, but reopened on August 4. with a fire truck at the door.

In addition to closing the building, and taking into account the findings of the report, in legal terms, the services also defend an injunction against NANEK and the Ministry of Internal Affairs “for violation or well-founded fear of violating administrative law.” “.

The Autarky, led by Rui Moreira, wants both the Civil Protection and the Ministry, headed by José Luis Carneiro, to be obliged “to adopt all necessary acts and material operations, to be determined as a preventive measure and with immediate effect through written and written a reasoned decision to temporarily close the premises of the Stop shopping center.

Since the preventive measure is “instrumental and temporary,” the legal services of autarchy also intend to take administrative measures to invalidate the direction of an extraordinary inspection “for defects that violate the law,” as well as to condemn ANEPC. and the ministry ordered the stop closed.

The civil protection report indicated that “inadequate safety of the building was clearly demonstrated” after fire risk assessment tests were carried out using the Gretner method, according to which “safety is sufficient if a value of 1 is reached”, but the floors on the surface The stop scored 0.45 and 0.77 (with firefighters at the door), and underground floors – 0.805 and 1.368 (with firefighters).

There are still deficiencies in the general evacuation conditions: “the generator is not designed solely for fire safety” as required by law, “the electrical panel of the generator shows a lack of maintenance and interventions that are not in accordance with best practice”, and there are still identified deficiencies in operation alarms and emergency lighting, among other anomalies.