PORTUGUESE COMMUNIST PARTY

Parliamentary Group

Draft Resolution No 526 / X-4ª

It recommends to the Government the urgent conclusion of the process of grading the Horse of the Saint Vincent and the whole of the Mineiro de São Pedro de Cova and adopt measures

for your urgent recovery

Preamble

The Horse of the St. Vincent's Poço is one of the most significant symbols of Saint Peter of the Cove and is a living landmark of a whole past of the mining activity that marked this Freguesia.

The Horse of St. Vincent's Poço, notwithstanding being in a high state of degradation, remains a reference for the population that sees in it, not just its undisputed heritage value, but its own past and a part of its history.

With its 25 metres of height and three floors, this imposing structure had as a function to support the coal mining of the mine and is accompanied by a complex of buildings that will serve as a support to the extractive activity.

As is well known, its patrimonial and referential value is recognized in a widely consensual manner, which cannot be rounded up from the decision of the Department of Mines of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the Port of using the Horse of the Poço de São Paulo. Vicente of the Minas de São Pedro da Cova as an identitarian logotype of that department of higher education. Notwithstanding it is considered, by many, as a reference of the industrial architecture at the national level, the Horse of the St. Vincent's Poço, and the complex of buildings that accompanies it, has been left to the abandonment by successive Governments. In fact, the successive PS and PSD Government, with or without the CDS-PP, have let down the mining heritage of Saint Peter da Cova and not even the process of classification of the Horse of the St. Vincent's Poço is still completed. Unlike other parties, namely the PS, the PCP has been fighting for many years for the classification and recovery of the Horse of the St. Vincent's Poço. In addition to various motions presented by the CDU in the Freguesia Assembly of St. Peter da Cova and the Gondomar Municipal Assembly, the CFP has questioned, whether the PSD Government, or the current PS Government.

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It further matters to mention that the process has unpolished itself with an initiative of the Junta of the Freguesia of St. Peter of the Cove. In June 2004, in response to the 618 /IX (2ª) application of the CFP, the Ministry of Culture confirmed that the request for classification of the Horse of St. Vincent's Poço had been unpolished following an initiative of the St. Peter's Freguesia Junta of the Cove. In due process, the then Regional Directorate of the Port of the IPPAR had initiated a collection of opinions, specifically that of the Department of Mines of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, whose unlace was the drafting of a proposal "for the opening of the instruction of the classification process, which logrou obtain favorable dispatch on May 30, 1996". That is, the process of classification of the Horse of the Poço de São Vicente from the ancient mines of Saint Peter da Cova was opened in 1996, thirteen years ago! More: the answer given in June 2004 by the Ministry of Culture, it stressed that, "in addition to the structure of the Horse of the Poço de S. Vicente, the safeguarding of the mining heritage of S. Peter of the Cova embraces equally, the facilities of the Poço de S. Vicente", located in the vicinity of the easel. The response of the Ministry of Culture of 2004 further said that the classification process was at the stage of "technical reasoning". In the meantime, in the municipal plan it was ratified, through the Resolution of Council of Ministers 120/2004, the Plan of Urbanization of Saint Peter of the Cove, the regulation of which stipulates, in Article 62º, that " the following buildings, assemblies and free spaces: 1) buildings with architectural interest and heritage-easel of coal extraction and facilities of the Poço de S. Vicente of the Coal Mines of S. Pedro da Cova, including the House of Malta-process in lane-making by the IPPAR; " (...) Still in the municipal plan was meanwhile held a contest for the "elaboration of the base programme, prior study and animation project of the Museum of S. Pedro da Cova". During the present Legislature, by majority PS, the PCP presented in all the proposed State Budgets of Classification and Recovery of the Horse of the St. Vincent's Poço that were, all of them, rejected by the PS and PSD. In the past month of April 2008, in response to a question asked by the CFP, the Ministry of Culture came to inform that " the proposal for classification and special protection zone for the Knights of coal extraction and facilities of the pit of S. Vicente da Mina de São Pedro da Cova was already instructed by the peripheral services of the Northern Region of this Ministry, meeting in phase of discussion with the City Hall of Gondomar, predicting its completion for brief ". Recently, the population of Saint Peter da Cova was surprised by the presentation of a draft resolution of the ER that recommends, to their own Government, the completion of the process of classification of the Horse of the Poço de São Vicente and all the elements of the mining couture of St. Peter da Cova and the rehabilitation of this structure. Now, the recent 'waking up' of the ER for this issue cannot fail to merit a vehement critique: either the ER is trying to draw political income from one, 'for brief', classification of this important monument trying, indecorously, to collect for you the laurels of a classification for which little or nothing has done, or else you know that this classification is not for short, which holds the Government PS solely and exclusively responsible.

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As for rehabilitation, the PCP reiterates, so that it does not fall into oblivion, that during this legislature, in all State Budgets, it submitted appropriations proposals for the recovery of the Horse of the St. Vincent's Poço, which were rejected by the ER. Thus, the ER comes today, just a few months away from municipal elections, to propose what it has rejected for four consecutive years. The CFP, without hypocrisy and in a coherent way, has always fought for the classification of this heritage and for its dignified, namely by inserting it into a museological project.

Aware of the urgent need for classification of this heritage and its urgent recovery, the CFP presents the present:

Draft Resolution

Pursuant to Article 156 (b) of the Constitution and paragraph 1 (1) of the Rules, the Assembly of the Republic recommends to the Government that:

a) Promoting the speedy completion of the classification process of the Horse of the Poço de São Vicente and all the facilities of the Poço de São Vicente and the urgent recovery of these structures.

b) Promoting the inventoration of the entire material and immaterial heritage belonging to the mining couture of Saint Peter of the Cove, with a view to its classification and recovery.

c) Take the necessary initiatives to mitigate the environmental impacts caused by the extractive activity.

Assembly of the Republic, July 2, 2009

The Deputies,

JORGE MACHADO; HONORIUS NEW; BERNARDINO SOARES; JOSÉ SOEIRO; FRANCISCO LOPES; AUGUSTINE LOPES; JOÃO OLIVEIRA; MIGUEL TIAGO; BRUNO DIAS