LOULÉ’S ADMINISTRATIVE and Fiscal Court has reached a decision over the action lodged by the Associação Comercial de Portimão, the Portimão shop owners’ association, against Portimão Câmara, over the authorisation to construct Portimão Retail Park.
The association tried to prevent the new Retail Park from opening earlier this year, citing that there were irregularities with regard to the licensing of the complex, and publicly claimed that it represented unfair competition for local shops and businesses.
According to a report in the Barlavento newspaper, the court’s decision to throw out the case was based on the fact that the official complaint was submitted too late. By law, a providência cautelar (a legal complaint tool) must be submitted no later than three months after the approval of the câmara for the construction. In this case, the authorisation for the construction of the Retail Park had been given on September 21 2005, and the Associação Comercial de Portimão only lodged their official complaint on March 13 2006.
