Castro Marim renews call for new GNR station during minister’s visit

Castro Marim has renewed its long-running call for a new GNR station after hosting a visit from top government representatives on Tuesday (June 23).

The visit, which took place on Tuesday morning, gave local officials an opportunity to tell the men directly in charge – in this case, the Minister of Internal Administration, Luís Neves, and Secretary of State of Internal Administration, Telmo Correia – just how badly the municipality needs a new GNR station.

Speaking at a meeting held at the town hall, mayor Filomena Sintra said the council has been proposing for years the construction of a new station on municipally owned land, arguing that the current facilities no longer meet operational requirements.

According to the council, the existing building was not originally designed to serve as a GNR station and suffers from a range of structural and functional problems, including water leaks – particularly when it rains – inadequate sanitary conditions and shortcomings in privacy, security and data protection.

Municipal officials say a new location would offer a more central position within the municipality, improve working conditions for officers and help make the profession more attractive.

The council noted that, despite years of lobbying successive governments, this was the first time a Minister of Internal Administration had visited Castro Marim to assess the situation firsthand.

“After many attempts in the past, this is the first time that the government, through the Minister of Internal Administration, has paid attention to and visited the municipality of Castro Marim,” the council said in a statement.

Filomena Sintra welcomed the minister’s visit and expressed hope that it would mark the beginning of a process that local authorities have been requesting for decades.

“We await with expectation the start of a process that should have begun many years ago,” she said, describing Castro Marim as a strategically important border municipality that has historically played a key role in the defence of Portugal’s frontier with Spain.

The visit concluded at the Guadiana International Bridge and the Castro Marim-Ayamonte Police and Customs Cooperation Centre, where the Portuguese delegation was joined by Ayamonte mayor Alberto Fernández.

While no formal commitment to a new station was announced, local officials hope the minister’s visit will help advance a project that has remained on the municipality’s agenda for many years.

Michael Bruxo

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.