Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Illegal !
British families living on the Spanish Costa Blanca face seeing their retirement dreams shattered, after being told that their homes have been built illegally and may have to be demolished. An investigation by Valencia's regional government, has found that more than 1,200 properties have been built on green belt land and a nature reserve, without planning permission. The regional authority claims that Catral town council failed to prevent development in and around the protected area of El Hondo, some 35 miles from Alicante. It has since stripped Catral of its housing powers and has threatened to dissolve the council. For the British living in the area, the future is uncertain. "The problem our solicitors failed to notice was that neither our home or the others on the complex had planning permission," one ex-pat told the 'London Evening Standard'. "The local town hall is now threatening to demolish the lot, leaving us to try to recoup our losses from the solicitor or the builder. "Valencia's Director of Housing, Esteban Gonzalez Pons, has said the region will do what it can to minimise the effect, but warned that "under no circumstances will we legalise any building which stands in El Hondo. "Valencia will also try to identify the people and companies who built the illegal properties, so that their assets can be frozen and compensation provided to the people who bought a home in good faith and now find the house could be demolished. As more and more of British and Irish people seek the sun in Spain, Costa Blanca has become the latest area to suffer from property scandals. Recently, civil servants took charge of Marbella town council after a numberof its councillors were arrested for corruption. Thousands of homes in the area also face demolition.
( Note: For anyone following this story, there is nothing new here in this rather simplified version. What may be the most important thing is the source of this commentary. Web site is http://www.lgib.gov.uk/publications/2006/Committee_of_the_Regions.html Perhaps reports of problems in this region can be copied there. There are links to various EU and other European organizations. CVS)
British families living on the Spanish Costa Blanca face seeing their retirement dreams shattered, after being told that their homes have been built illegally and may have to be demolished. An investigation by Valencia's regional government, has found that more than 1,200 properties have been built on green belt land and a nature reserve, without planning permission. The regional authority claims that Catral town council failed to prevent development in and around the protected area of El Hondo, some 35 miles from Alicante. It has since stripped Catral of its housing powers and has threatened to dissolve the council. For the British living in the area, the future is uncertain. "The problem our solicitors failed to notice was that neither our home or the others on the complex had planning permission," one ex-pat told the 'London Evening Standard'. "The local town hall is now threatening to demolish the lot, leaving us to try to recoup our losses from the solicitor or the builder. "Valencia's Director of Housing, Esteban Gonzalez Pons, has said the region will do what it can to minimise the effect, but warned that "under no circumstances will we legalise any building which stands in El Hondo. "Valencia will also try to identify the people and companies who built the illegal properties, so that their assets can be frozen and compensation provided to the people who bought a home in good faith and now find the house could be demolished. As more and more of British and Irish people seek the sun in Spain, Costa Blanca has become the latest area to suffer from property scandals. Recently, civil servants took charge of Marbella town council after a numberof its councillors were arrested for corruption. Thousands of homes in the area also face demolition.
( Note: For anyone following this story, there is nothing new here in this rather simplified version. What may be the most important thing is the source of this commentary. Web site is http://www.lgib.gov.uk/publications/2006/Committee_of_the_Regions.html Perhaps reports of problems in this region can be copied there. There are links to various EU and other European organizations. CVS)
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