Vasco Ferraz

Culture, tradition, nature, history, golf and authentic cuisine are many of the reasons why we want to visit Ponte de Lima, the oldest town in Portugal. Not forgetting the famous dish Arroz de Sarrabulho, another of its many attractions. Ponte de Lima «is rich in religious heritage, manor houses and nature tourism,» says Vasco Ferraz. He took over as mayor two years ago. Since then, it’s been a daily challenge. Although all of his time is accounted for, there was room for an interview with V&G. He spoke about culture, keeping young people in the region, the importance of investors, the growth potential of Vinho Verde, Turismo de Habitação, climate change action plans and left a message for the current government. In fact, there is no shortage of reasons to get to know the unparalleled landscapes and enjoy the iconic River Lima. 

Ponte de Lima is a heritage site of culture and traditions. There are so many reasons to visit Ponte de Lima. Can you name a few for us? 
Ponte de Lima is, in fact, a heritage site of culture and traditions. We have a well-preserved architectural heritage, we have an outstanding environmental heritage, we are a municipality with history, we have our gastronomy, which tantalizes the most discerning palates, and Arroz de Sarrabulho à Moda de Ponte de Lima is also a culinary treasure... Therefore, we have many reasons that attract thousands of visitors to Ponte de Lima every year. 
There are many monuments in the municipality that are worth visiting and appreciating, both in the town and in the parishes, especially when it comes to religious heritage, the manor houses and the casas brasonadas (stately homes). We also have our fabulous landscape, which defines our parishes; the ecovias and trails, which make it possible to boost nature tourism. And I can’t fail to mention our traditions, our folklore, the customs that have endured over the years, making Ponte de Lima a municipality rich in humanity.Ponte de Lima also has a network of museums and interpretation centres that has grown significantly in recent years, both in terms of space, activities and number of visitors. This network includes the Ponte de Lima Military History Interpretation Centre, the Terceiros Museum – which is part of the Portuguese Museum Network – the Portuguese Toy Museum, the Vinho Verde Interpretation and Promotion Centre, the Territory Interpretation Centre and the Roman Route ‘Time Station’. 

In your eyes, what is the most privileged place in Ponte de Lima? 
Ponte de Lima is a privileged municipality because it has many places of great interest. But I would say that the River Lima is iconic, it’s what gives our municipality its name, and it’s of fundamental importance to our community life. It is our most important ecosystem, which should be valued and enhanced. The unrivalled landscape it allows us to enjoy... It’s a river that makes champions... It has a very special meaning for all Limianos. For this reason, the municipal executive has always paid special attention to the River Lima and its aim is to implement the Integrated Project for the Enhancement of the Banks of the River Lima. In conjunction with and with the consent of the competent authorities, it intends to carry out a series of interventions related to the stabilisation and enhancement of the banks and the corresponding riparian galleries, as well as improving the conditions for the flow of the River Lima in the area. 

How will the municipality make it possible for young people to stay in the region? What incentives does the municipality offer?
The Municipality of Ponte de Lima wants to keep young people in the area, but there are powers that transcend this. Within the municipality’s remit, we have created policies to ensure that young people stay here and that others come to our municipality to work and live. To this end, we have various tax benefits available to citizens and we also promote the Centro com Vida programme, which is a programme to support young people renting in the Historic Centre. 
It is the municipality’s intention to make major investments, whenever the necessary funding is found under the RRP - Recovery and Resilience Plan - or Portugal 2030 EU funding, to promote affordable housing. However, this is currently a structural problem and the measures to mitigate the difficulties that citizens, families and, in particular, young people are encountering in the housing market must come from Central Government. The government must take into account measures to reduce the tax burden, promoting wage increases so that citizens can bear the monthly burden and live in decent conditions. 

Having major investors committing to Ponte de Lima could mean a source of revenue for the region, if we think that many of these investments will create more jobs, rehabilitate spaces and create ‘desire’ for this land. What is your vision?
All investors are welcome in Ponte de Lima, from the small-medium to the major investor, as long as they bring wealth to the municipality, create jobs, especially skilled labour with corresponding wages, allowing people to work in their territory. 
Recognising the high potential of Ponte de Lima, in the global context of the entire Alto Minho region, as a privileged territory for hosting businesses, it is important to sustainably strengthen its economic base and exploit synergies and complementarities that can be generated between the various activities developed in the territory, in an integration logic of clusters.
The Municipality intends to ensure the promotion of business hosting infrastructures to potential investors, as well as establishing and strengthening partnerships between the entities that manage business hosting infrastructures, in this case the Municipality of Ponte de Lima, and other bodies, namely the business and industrial associations that operate in the area.
The Municipality of Ponte de Lima implements a tax policy with a broad horizon that aims, above all, to promote stability and investor guarantees, bearing in mind the importance of a policy of attractiveness and tax benefits for both companies and families.

«The government should take into consideration measures to reduce the tax burden, promoting wage increases»

You have the example of major wine brands that have been looking at the Vinho Verde region as a strategic investment point. In Ponte de Lima in particular, there are several successful wine projects. 
Ponte de Lima has made a name for itself in the Vinho Verde region, and is already a national benchmark with potential for growth in the international market. Several wines produced in Ponte de Lima have been honoured and are successful brands, and the market is increasingly receptive to Vinho Verde and its excellent quality. 
Ponte de Lima was also part of a bid to enhance, boost and promote the Loureiro do Vale do Lima grape variety, together with local players, giving it recognition, visibility and integrating it as a cornerstone of gastronomic tourism and wine tourism in the Vale do Lima region. The municipalities involved will continue to promote «Loureiro do Vale do Lima: a wine, a territory, a destination», in a strategy which, among other initiatives, will involve the joint promotion and marketing of Vinho Verde, focusing specifically on the Loureiro grape variety. The aim is to highlight its quality and character as a product of the heritage and identity of the Vale do Lima region (Ponte de Lima, Ponte da Barca, Arcos de Valdevez and Viana do Castelo), by investing in a high-value territorial brand. Efforts have been made to ensure that, after the end of the project, various public and private players are interested in setting up a more formal and comprehensive body or consortium to strengthen their institutional and commercial ties with a view to promoting wine tourism and the region, with a focus on the Loureiro do Vale do Lima. 

Ponte de Lima is in fashion, is it already a preferred destination?
In terms of tourism and attractiveness, as far as the municipality of Ponte de Lima is concerned, the characteristics of our territory, sprawling «by nature», which could previously have been a handicap in terms of optimising some investments in infrastructure and which will still require this effort, has actually become our best argument in the current context. The high level of environmental preservation, the great natural, cultural and scenic wealth and the existence of support facilities for tourism and nature activities are factors that are increasingly sought after and valued. 
If there was already a flow of people from the major cities to the more rural areas, looking for a different, healthier and more balanced lifestyle, whether for leisure or to live, this flow will certainly increase.
Ponte de Lima is one of the most popular destinations in the north of Portugal. Ponte de Lima has nature tourism; religious tourism, especially the Way of Saint James; it’s a gastronomic destination par excellence; we have products of unrivalled value; we’re the capital of Turismo de Habitação, a type of rural tourism, with our manor houses and casas brasonadas (stately homes); we have countless initiatives and projects throughout the year that attract visitors and boost the local economy; we have top hotels and accommodation... I would therefore say that Ponte de Lima is a preferred destination.

«All investors are welcome in Ponte de Lima, as long as they bring wealth to the municipality»

Ponte de Lima is making waves in the national tourism economy. In your opinion, has the current government been looking at the North, and in particular the Minho region, with the right ‘eyes’? 
There is a situation that we have to take into account, the differentiation that is being made between large and small territories, and some measures are being prepared by the government without taking this into account, clearly damaging territories like ours. I’m referring, for example, to the legislation that the government is preparing regarding Alojamento Local (Local Accommodation) licenses.
There is a lack of consideration as to what the different identities are, because, in safeguarding the autonomy of local power, respect for local policies should never be ruled out because, in their conception, there is effective knowledge of a particular reality, which is not the same for the whole country. We don’t mean to underestimate the importance of the existence of development strategies and general guidelines for the country and the regions, or that the different national programmes should embrace all these realities. There are measures that could be generalized, as is the case with «Mais Habitação» (More Housing), but there are others that should not be so disproportionate and blind to the whole country, as if the whole country were the same. Instead, the programme should provide mechanisms for adjusting to each of the realities that are similar to each other. Therefore, without detracting from the importance and reinforcing the need for effective action by the government, it is important that these measures do not strangle or discourage investment in areas such as Ponte de Lima, particularly with regard to the important economic and urban regeneration momentum created by Local Accommodation. 
The reality of major urban centres or highly established tourist areas is not the same as that of low-density territories. Being an activity that, as has happened throughout the country, has contributed significantly to the recovery, enhancement and stimulation of private buildings, in Ponte de Lima it is the only viable way of meeting the demand for tourist accommodation that existing hotel units are unable to provide. Therefore, even for the major centres, this measure should take into account specific allocations for each reality, for areas in the cities or areas in the country, which make it possible to guarantee a balance between the supply of local accommodation and the housing function. We do believe that this condition, in major cities, and taking the current scenario as a starting point, should only be placed on new investments, because otherwise it will lead to new financial problems for those families whose income currently depends on this activity. 
In the same vein, we believe it is totally unfair and unconscionable to apply an extra tax contribution on Local Accommodation to finance affordable housing policies, as if they were to blame for the current housing crisis, when, in reality, it was the inoperability and lack of timely regulation of this sector that led, in some urban areas, to an imbalance between housing and Local Accommodation. It will be up to the state, namely the Tax Authority, to be more effective in inspecting entrepreneurs in the sector who do not contribute the taxes that are actually due or those who constitute the untaxed parallel economy. Also, in relation to taxation and the parallel economy, special attention should be paid to undeclared (intermediary) subletting, which contributes greatly to the aforementioned parallel economy, as well as to the inflation of rental prices, often not the property rate, but the rate for a «room», for more or less short periods of time.

Sustainability and climate change are two issues that are on the agenda more than ever, whether in local authorities, the country or the world. In this case, and as mayor, what actions have you taken in your municipality in this regard?
The Municipality of Ponte de Lima is part of the ALTO MINHO ADAPT - Alto Minho Intermunicipal Climate Adaptation Plan (PO SEUR) project, which aims to strengthen the abilities of the municipalities of Alto Minho to adapt to climate change. The aim is to take part in the inter-municipal task force that will draw up this plan and implement the corresponding communication, involvement and awareness-raising program.
There is also the Municipal Climate Action Plan, which involves providing support to the Escola Superior Agrária as part of the procedure for drawing up the plan that we intend to develop. The Municipality of Ponte de Lima is continuing to implement the activities planned under the Covenant of Mayors, a voluntary European movement involving local and regional authorities in the fight against climate change. 
And we are involved in more initiatives that promote sustainability, particularly energy sustainability.  To this end, work has been carried out on local government public infrastructures with decorative and public lighting systems, continuing the actions that have been carried out under the PDCT - NORTE 2020. The aim of these interventions is to reduce electricity consumption at each lighting point, and significant savings can be achieved by directly replacing the existing fixture with an LED one.
Taking into account the funding opportunities considered to be a priority of the new EU Framework, in the context of the priority given to the Digital Transition, we will implement, in the context of the improvement of social housing buildings, measures aimed at intelligent energy management and the use of renewable energies. We also intend to develop partnerships with associations and educational institutions to implement projects of environmental interest. We also want to promote initiatives to encourage the use of soft modes (bicycle and pedestrian) which, among other advantages, will reduce CO2 emissions, namely by creating links to the Ponte de Lima Urban Area Access Cycle and Pedestrian Paths (PAMUS). 
There is also the implementation of the actions foreseen in the Study for the Development of Bio-waste Collection Systems in the municipality of Ponte de Lima, namely the feasibility of the investments identified therein that promote the separate collection of organic waste and the consequent reduction in the disposal of unsorted waste, possibly in partnership and with a possible framework in the funding notices that may be made available through PO SEUR or RRP.
The municipality is also planning a project for the «Selective Collection of Non-Domestic Food Biowaste in the Urban Centre of Ponte de Lima» (Pilot Project), with funding approved by the Environmental Fund under the «RecolhaBio – Support for the implementation of projects for the selective collection of biowaste» notice.