Consulted by Lusa, the notice indicates that the order from the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, determines "the opening of the classification procedure for a monument of municipal interest of the CCStop".

The Stop, where rehearsal rooms and studios mostly operate, saw most of its units sealed on July 18, 2023, leaving almost 500 artists and shopkeepers with nowhere to go, but it reopened on August 4, with a fire truck at the door.

At this moment, the shopping centre is operating indefinitely, following an injunction filed by the owners against the city council's decision to close the building, confirmed Rui Moreira on September 22.

In November, the executive of the Porto City Council unanimously approved moving forward with the classification of the Stop shopping centre, which implies, under the Cultural Heritage Framework Law, the establishment of a 50-metre general protection zone.

According to the notice, interested parties may appeal or file an appeal against the act, as established by the Code of Administrative Procedure, "without prejudice to the possibility of contentious challenge".

Earlier this year, Rui Moreira said that all the safety interventions required for the shopping centre to operate were being implemented and that the only unresolved situation had to do with a security door.

As for the Pires de Lima School, the solution presented by the municipality to the musicians as an alternative to the Stop, Rui Moreira clarified that the project is being developed and showed the councillors the model of the building.

The councillor for Urbanism, Pedro Baganha, also clarified that there were no updated drawings of the school and that a "complete survey of the building" had to be done, and that the municipality is currently finalising the hiring of a consultant in acoustics and rehearsal spaces.

As for the pathologies identified in the building, Pedro Baganha clarified that the most evident ones, such as water ingress and broken infrastructures, "have been resolved".

According to the councillor, the school has five towers and a central building, and three towers will be used for recording spaces.

The central space, which will be developed in a second phase of the project, will also have recording studios and storage spaces for equipment.

Pedro Baganha said that the project will unfold "building by building", since it is a "completely atypical project".

"We have never done anything like this, we have to pave the way", he said, refusing to commit to deadlines, but saying he expects that by the end of the year the musicians will be able to occupy the first towers.

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