Children’s park pays homage to Campino and brings life to the historic center of Benavente (with Photos)

The Benavente City Council inaugurated this Sunday the new Children’s Park, which in addition to paying homage to the figure of Campino, so characteristic of Lezíria, also gives life to the historic center of the town of Benavente, which thus restores an old building where the House of People and the local consumer cooperative.

Carlos Coutinho, Mayor of Benavente said that “it is a double satisfaction for us, because we had the opportunity to return this space to the people of Benavente” thus recovering a space that “due to the negligence of some” had been lost in favor of Social Security and which the municipality has now recovered, having to spend around 200 thousand euros.

The space that until the construction of this project was completely vacant, having already been in ruins and transformed into a “den for breeding rats and others”, is now “qualified and returned to those who are most important, which are our children and young people are obviously the present and the future.”

The mayor also highlights that this requalification was carried out with “symbolism”. “Here we support the countryside in this way that I think is very creative and in a space that is very attractive”, which she hopes will be “necessarily for the people of Benavente, but we hope that it can also have the capacity to call here other people attracted to this space.”

This work was the last carried out by the Municipality of Benavente under the European funding program Portugal 2020, and the municipality therefore decided to pay tribute to Maria do Carmo, a technician from the INAlentejo Program, who, together with Filipe Palma, were in the words of Carlos Coutinho , fundamental pieces for the municipality of Benavente to have managed to raise 5.5 million euros of European money.

Carlos Coutinho states that with the 5.5 million euros of European funds “we made several interventions”, “Right from the creation of cycle paths in parallel with the EN118, we greatly improved the entrance image of Samora Correia and Benavente.” “We had the opportunity to requalify an emblematic space in Samora Correia, such as Parque Ruy Luís Gomes”, he announces, adding that “with this funding it was possible to requalify, intervene here in the Historic Center”, and works such as “the car park which is spectacular, the requalification of Cruzeiro do Calvário, which is an emblematic heritage for us, Avenida das Acácias, this entire central area with Praça da República and Praça do Município”. Also in Samora, “the entire historic area” was redeveloped.

“I believe that in a structured way, it was possible to carry out a very successful intervention here”, concluded the mayor.~

The “O Campino” Children’s Park is the result of an investment by the Municipality of Benavente of around 450 thousand euros, 200 thousand for the acquisition of the space and 270 thousand euros, plus VAT, for the construction of the pieces that make up the figure, in a equipment fully adapted for children and which complies with all current safety standards.

Also noteworthy is the presence of dozens of children, who accompanied by their parents and grandparents were able to enjoy their first emotions at the “O Campino” Children’s Park, in a morning filled with stories and popcorn.