On 29 October 2024, the Sintra Administrative and Fiscal Court ordered the Cascais Municipal Council (CMC) to hand over to ONGA SOS Quinta dos Ingleses—Associação Ambiental a series of documents relating to the approval process for the construction of the Hilton Hotel in Carcavelos, which the latter had requested in January this year and which CMC refused to hand over.
The documents in question could expose new irregularities in the licensing process for the Hilton Hotel.
CMC now has 10 days to deliver the documentation requested by SOS Quinta dos Ingleses, under penalty of a financial penalty for each day of delay.
It should be remembered that the construction of the Hilton Hotel in Carcavelos was the subject of television reports and newspaper articles when, in January this year, SOS Quinta dos Ingleses revealed that part of the land (830 m2) on which it is being built was sold by CMC in 2020 for just €312,700.00, a derisory price compared to the market values prevailing at the time.
The Public Prosecutor's Office is still investigating the contours of this deal, which could involve the commission of various criminal offences by those in charge of the municipality.
The ruling by the Sintra Administrative and Fiscal Court left no room for doubt about the municipality's obligation to hand over the documentation requested by SOS Quinta dos Ingleses regarding the Hilton case, and the fact that it was necessary to go to court to obtain what the law clearly obliges municipalities to present (out of a duty of transparency, as the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents had already told CMC) makes the municipality's behaviour revealing.
Despite the time that has passed, the ruling now handed down makes it clear that the CMC's behaviour since January 2024, restricting access to the requested documentation, is unlawful and that the CMC may have to pay an amount for each day of delay if it does not voluntarily comply with the ruling.
