Nordeste Municipality invests over €3 million in housing - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego

The Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing, and Employment, Maria João Carreiro, chaired last Saturday the solemn session celebrating the 512th anniversary of Nordeste’s elevation to town status. During the ceremony, she highlighted the Regional Government's ongoing housing investments across the municipality.

Speaking at the Nordeste Municipal Cultural Centre, the Regional Secretary revealed that over €3 million has been invested, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), in more than 50 housing solutions since 2021, encompassing renovations, new builds, and servicing of plots. 

​In the parish of Salga, 22 houses were refurbished to improve living conditions and energy efficiency, lowering utility costs and increasing thermal comfort. A further five residential renovations were completed across the parishes of Achadinha, Achada and Nordeste through the “Renovate to Live" programme.  

In Achadinha, the Regional Secretariat is currently building 15 housing units—12 three-bedroom and 3 four-bedroom properties. These will be allocated under a lease with purchase option scheme at prices compatible with household and young people's income. Applications are currently under analysis.

Additionally, 10 serviced plots acquired by the Region under the RRP in Vila do Nordeste and the parish of Santana will be made available for permanent housing. The preliminary lists of admitted and excluded applicants have already been published on the Regional Directorate for Housing portal.

The beneficiaries of the plots will also be eligible for a non-repayable grant of up to €5,000 for architectural designs and specialist services, as well as support for self-build projects, which can now amount to €75,000,  depending on the household composition and income, and the type of housing.

“The challenges of combating depopulation, retaining young people and attracting talent are not exclusive to the towns and cities furthest from the main urban areas. Nonetheless, it is precisely in these places that a greater effort is required to resolve them, considering that the problem is not a new one and cannot be solved overnight,” emphasised Maria João Carreiro.

According to the Regional Secretary, “a strong municipality is not measured solely by public sector action,” but also—and above all—“by its institutions, associations, organisations and civil society, whose contributions to citizenship and participation must be preserved and strengthened.” 

In this regard, she added that “Nordeste has no shortage of merits.”

Maria João ​Carreiro pointed out the Nordeste Vocational School, run by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, as a prime example of local commitment to empowering youth and adults through vocational training, which directly boosts local business productivity.

The Regional Government has supported this effort with over €245,000 in public investment for equipment modernisation and training activities since 2021, alongside ESF+, financing for 12 Level 4 vocational courses since the 2021/2022 school year.

​According to the Regional Secretary, Nordeste now boasts improved healthcare access, better assisted-ageing facilities and upgraded public infrastructure, actively contributing to the Azores' strategy of promoting nature and sustainable tourism, which is what identifies us as a tourist destination.

​Considering the anniversary “a day not only to celebrate the past, but, above all, to express hope and confidence in the present,” the Regional Secretariat urged residents to consider the municipality’s geography—once regarded as a limitation—as an opportunity to add value across all nine parishes.

“Geography has not changed. However, we must continue changing how we look at it with even greater resolve, confident that combining local and regional policies will result in a development model rooted in quality of life, sustainability, and human value,” she concluded.