The Mayor of the Municipality has consistently viewed the chosen location as acceptable, given that there was no better alternative nearby to meet the needs of residents around Campo da República, the municipality stated in response to inquiries.
Options in front of the Chapel of Santo António or the former GNR facilities were considered “far less dignified,” according to the independent mayor, who will not seek re-election in the municipal elections on October 12.
Despite opposition, Henrique Bertino decided to maintain the chosen location “to best serve the residents” and argued that vehicle parking there “would be more undignified.”
In January 2024, the opposition questioned the mayor, warning about the negative visual impact on heritage and urged reconsideration.
Henrique Bertino acknowledged the challenges of installing equipment in the city due to heritage issues or narrow streets and explained that the relocation of recycling points is due to planned works around the Church of Santo António.
The Cultural Heritage clarified that between 2017 and 2022, it commented on planned public space interventions in the Special Protection Zone of the Peniche Fortress.
In November 2022, it issued a “conditionally favorable” opinion on the improvement project for Largo de Santo António and its adjacent area, including the relocation of waste collection equipment as per the project, without any graphic representation.
Since issuing the opinion, no additions have been made to the process, and the solutions implemented on-site did not receive approval from the DGPC, it stated.
The entity emphasized that the surface-level solutions introduce formal and visual impacts on the classified property’s Special Protection Zone, which need to be reduced and minimized through an appropriate architectural and landscape study.
The municipal executive meeting explained that the municipality incorporated DGPC recommendations into the urban study for the area, which eventually received a “conditionally favorable” opinion and was approved by the municipality in June 2020.
Quoting the project, PSD councilors Filipe de Matos Sales and Cristina Leitão clarified that it included a potential area for recycling points, with the solution involving the installation of underground, rather than surface-level, recycling points, significantly affecting the “visual impact.”
Cultural Heritage requested an appropriate study/project from the municipality, which, since 2024, has not been presented or discussed in the municipality.
Peniche Fortress has been classified as a National Monument since 1938 and served as a prison during the Estado Novo regime, housing political prisoners, including the historic PCP Secretary-General Álvaro Cunhal in 1960.
Since 2024, it has hosted the National Museum of Resistance and Freedom, a government investment of approximately five million euros.
