The Midfield Fort, also known as Forte de São Roque, is in an advanced state of degradation, without any recovery plan. The building, classified as a monument of public interest since 2015, belongs to the State, which has so far showed no interest in restoring it. For the mayor of Lagos, Hugo Pereira, this situation represents “an attack on the historical and cultural heritage of the region”.
Built in 1674 to defend the Lagos Bay, the fort was freely provided to customs by the municipality in 1873, and was used until the 1990s by the former tax guard. Since then, it has been abandoned and without a definite function, despite the municipality’s various efforts to find a solution to its recovery.
The mayor regrets that, over the years, the House tried to negotiate with the state without success. According to Hugo Pereira, whenever an understanding was sought, the answer was to refer the municipality to the Revive Program, “as if from a private entity it was.”
The revive program, promoted by the government, aims to rehabilitate vacant assets by granting private investors for tourist projects. However, the mayor considers unfair that the municipality has to pay for the property when the goal is to preserve it for the benefit of the community.
“When it is in the interest of guardianship, our free support ask us, but when it is the other way around, they want money,” criticized Hugo Pereira, stressing that the degradation of the fort is an unacceptable situation and that puts at risk the preservation of a monument of great value for the Algarve.
According to the Lagos City Council has insisted on the assignment of the building to the municipality, but all proposals were rejected by the government. Despite the authority’s commitment to recover the property, the lack of concrete response has prevented any advance.
To sensitize the population and press the responsible entities, the House launched a public petition in December last year. However, the initiative gathered only 610 signatures, a number far below the 7,500 needed to be discussed in Parliament.
The abandonment of the Fort of Half Praia reflects a broader problem of historical heritage management in Portugal. Many buildings of cultural value remain ruined due to bureaucracy and lack of public investment.
The Lagos Authority continues to argue that the rehabilitation of the fort should be a priority and that the property can be placed at the service of the community, either through a cultural or leisure space.
While there is no definitive solution, the fort remains in an increasingly degraded state, threatening a major milestone in the history of the region.
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