Praia da Vitoria starts selling land to residents of illegal area

The Chamber of Praia da Vitoria on Terceira Island, Azores, has begun selling land to residents of an illegal area built by the US Air Force, President Vania Ferreira said on Wednesday.

“We have already begun the process of paperwork with the residents of the houses so that this process can move forward in large steps towards its completion. It is important to emphasize that the missing amount was not fixed in the contract, therefore, funding was not provided by the previous municipal leaders of the operation that endangers the future of these families,” said Mayor of Praia da Vitoria (PSD / CDS-PP) Vania Ferreira, quoted in press release.

At stake is an area known as “the area of ​​the Americans” in Santa Rita, in Praia da Vitoria, built in the 1950s on rented land to house American soldiers stationed at the Laies base, at a time when the park was housing on the island of Terceira had a limited capacity.

In the 1990s, the houses were sold to the Portuguese, but the land was never bought, and the dispute between tenants and landlords dragged on in the courts for years.

As of 2003, the majority of residents (about 100 families) stopped paying rent, they say, on the recommendation of the city council, which led to several evictions, one in 2015 and 13 more in 2018.

In September 2018, the Praia da Vitoria City Council, led by PS, reached an agreement with the owners to purchase the land for four million euros after four years and then sold it to the residents, and 13 evicted families returned to their homes.

At that time, the mayor of the municipality, Tiberio Dinis (PS), said that he received the support of the Government of the Republic and the Regional Government of the Azores, both from the PS, in acquiring the land.

The first installment, paid in 2019, forced the municipality to take out a short-term loan of 1.1 million euros.

However, Vania Ferreira, who took office in October 2021, claims that it was only in December 2022 that the ARAAL contract (technical and financial cooperation between regional administration and local administration) was signed with the current Executive Director of the Azores (PSD/CDS). -PP/PPM), which provided the funding needed to acquire the land.

The mayor confirmed this Wednesday the transfer of one million euros from the regional government to the municipality of Praia da Vitoria.

“If this amount had not been paid, we would have evicted these 100 families, which was a huge social problem in our municipality,” he stressed.

According to the mayor of Praia da Vitoria, the government of the republic has already transferred 2.1 million euros in 2018 and 2019, while the remaining 900,000 euros will come from the sale of land to residents.

The Autarky also guaranteed the projects of the subdivisions and the water supply of these houses, which until then had been provided by the Lajes base.

The new water supply network was financed from EU funds and the Environmental Fund of the Ministry of the Environment.

“This social drama, which has affected 100 families from Praia, is in the process of being resolved. We are focused on this goal, because it is important for us to solve problems in a sustainable, rigorous and permanent way,” emphasized Vania Ferreira.