Public Prosecutor Seeks Demolition of the "Hilton Hotel" in Carcavelos– Actions Taken by Current Minister Miguel Pinto Luz Called into Question
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
SOS Quinta dos Ingleses Press Release
Environmental Association, Environmental NGO
Public Prosecutor Seeks Demolition of the "Hilton Hotel" in Carcavelos
– Actions Taken by Current Minister Miguel Pinto Luz Called into Question
Following the RTP report broadcast on 18 July 2026, SOS Quinta dos Ingleses – Environmental Association, Environmental NGO, announces that it has learned that the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Sintra Administrative and Tax Court has filed a lawsuit against the Municipality of Cascais/Cascais City Council, Encosta da Parede (owner of the "Hilton Hotel" development in Carcavelos/Parede), and the mortgage creditors. The aim is to have the entire planning permission process declared null and void and to require the demolition of everything that has been built on the site or, at the very least, three of the seven storeys of the two tourist apartment buildings already constructed.
This action by the Public Prosecutor's Office follows a complaint submitted by SOS Quinta dos Ingleses on 8 September 2023, in which the Association reported what it considered to be unlawful aspects of the planning permission process, namely breaches of the applicable environmental and planning regulations (the Cascais Municipal Master Plan and Land Use Plans). The complaint also pointed out that the site where the so-called "Hilton Hotel" is being built includes an 823 m² plot of land sold by Cascais City Council to Encosta da Parede in 2020 for €312,700, a very low price for seafront land in Carcavelos.
SOS Quinta dos Ingleses has always maintained that there were many reasons to question the legality of the planning permission (see, for example: https://www.sosquintadosingleses.com/post/caso-hilton-mentiras-contradi%C3%A7%C3%B5es-e-d%C3%BAvidas-um-folhetim-em-diversos-epis%C3%B3dios). For this reason, it submitted the complaint that led both to the legal action now brought by the Public Prosecutor's Office and to the criminal investigation that is still ongoing and is expected to see significant developments very soon.
It should be recalled that most of the decisions that led to this planning permission were taken by the then Deputy Mayor of Cascais and current Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, who at the time was responsible for Strategic Projects. It was also Miguel Pinto Luz who first publicly announced, in October 2019, that the Hilton in Carcavelos would be built, even though the project had not yet been approved by the City Council (see: https://publituris.pt/2019/10/01/e-tudo-barato-em-portugal-temos-de-deixar-de-ser-o-pais-do-baratinho-e-ser-o-pais-da-qualidade).
SOS Quinta dos Ingleses also recalls that the first concerns about the legality of the land sale, the terms under which it was carried out, and the tax benefits (worth more than €2.4 million) granted by Cascais City Council to Encosta da Parede, the owner of the development, were raised in 2020 by Councillor Clemente Alves of the CDU. However, it was the complaint submitted by SOS Quinta dos Ingleses that triggered the investigation which has now led to the legal challenge against the planning permission and to the ongoing criminal investigation. As is publicly known, this investigation has already resulted in several searches of Cascais City Council offices and municipal administrative services.
SOS Quinta dos Ingleses also believes that the fact that the land is located in an area considered to be at high seismic risk, together with sea levels rising faster than previously predicted by scientific studies, and the growing impact of climate change and extreme weather events—including the accelerated erosion of Portugal's coastline and the extensive damage suffered by the country this year—meant that Cascais City Council should never have authorised construction in this area. The protection of the coastline and the environment required otherwise. Furthermore, the fact that the approved development is completely disproportionate in terms of height and land occupation compared with the surrounding built environment only reinforces that conviction.
The area where the 116 tourist apartments and 67 hotel rooms are currently being built should therefore have remained a wooded area preserving the protected species that existed there before construction began. In addition, SOS Quinta dos Ingleses hopes that the grounds of the lawsuit brought by the Public Prosecutor's Office will be upheld by the Court, making it possible to reverse the current situation and restore and regenerate the land.
Finally, SOS Quinta dos Ingleses hopes that the ongoing criminal investigation will soon determine whether the other alleged illegalities concerning this real estate development, as raised by the Association, are also confirmed.
