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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Spanish law could save Britons' costa homes By Fiona Govan in Madrid
Last Updated: 2:06am GMT 21/11/2006
British homeowners who purchased illegally built property on the Spanish costas have been told they have a chance of saving their homes from demolition if they can prove they bought in good faith. Around 100,000 homes, many owned by Britons, were declared illegal after it emerged they were built with licenses wrongly handed out by corrupt or inefficient planning officials. Last month, Antonio Vercher, the special prosecutor appointed to tackle building fraud and corruption, declared that all such buildings would have to be knocked and that the only recourse for owners was to seek compensation through the courts. But legal experts have said the authorities will only be able to demolish a development if they have evidence that each individual owner bought in the knowledge that the property breached building regulations. Manuel Martin, the dean of the College of Registrars for Property in Western Andalusia, said yesterday that homeowners are protected in Spanish law by "the principle of public faith in the registry". "This ensures that those who purchased homes in the belief that the information supplied to them by officials was correct must be allowed to keep ownership," he said. The Andalusian Supreme Court of Justice confirmed that while it was determined to pursue the demolition of those buildings that had had their licenses annulled it would not send the bulldozers in before taking statements from the owners of the threatened buildings. The news of a line of defence has brought a glimmer of hope to the thousands of Britons who inadvertently found themselves the victims of alleged property frauds. Gwilym Rhys-Jones, an adviser and investigator at the Costa del Sol Action Group, which helps expatriates in the region to fight fraud, said it was the first piece of good news property owners in Spain had heard for a long time. "It is a straw for the desperate to clasp at," he said. "In effect it means that if one homeowner in a development can prove that they bought the property innocently the whole block can be saved. They can hardly knock down a residential block and leave one apartment standing." One elderly British couple spoke yesterday of their relief at finally hearing something positive. "Only last week we heard that the government had issued a demolition order on our building and we felt totally helpless, "said Yvonne Burditt, 83, who lives with her husband Jack, 86, in an apartment at Banana Beach on the outskirts of Marbella."But now at least we have something to go on. We have been trying to find out our legal position but it just hasn't been clear, until now. "Before paying £170,000 for their beachfront apartment three years ago, the Burditts consulted a local lawyer who assured them in writing that everything was above board."If it's simply a case of proving our innocence I think we have a chance at saving our home," said Mrs Burditt.
(( Note: The obvious question is the meaning of "information supplied byofficials". Who is an "official" for this purpose and what sort of information would suffice? Does second hand information via the assurances of an estate agent, a builder or a lawyer qualify- or only some form of certification by the Town hall, or the land registry or the Catastral office? CVS))

Friday, November 17, 2006

Ciudadanos Europeos 17.ll.06 reports
100 town plans without water provision

The council for the Jucar water district (CHJ), embracing Northern Alicante, Valencia and Castellon, has warned that 93 town plans do not have a guarantee of sufficient water supply. This is in addition to a number of town plans in the southern part of Alicante province; an area serviced by the water district of Jucar.
The Supreme Court of Valencia has halted a plan for 1,500 houses in Parcent as not being sustainable, since no firm guarantee for water can be given. The newly elected President of Abusos Urbanistico NO, Enrique Climent, states: “This ruling will be the departing point for a river of such decisions”.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

CHANGES IN THE LAND LAW
Esteban Gonzalez Pons, the Conseller for the Territory, yesterday proposed an alteration to the Land Laws that are currently being prepared bythe Madrid Government in order to stabilize the division of profits that could generate any requalification of land amongst the affected owners. In this way, the Valencian Government is proposing that the profits generated by the sale of land be divided amongst those who have owned it for twenty-five years or more. According to the Conseller, in this way, it would be possible to do away with speculation and the price rises that homes in Spanish cities undergo. Mr. Gonzalez Pons added: "If the central government is not prepared to do this, then we are prepared to enact a law in this regard for the Valencian Community."

(Comment:Fine for Spanish landholders, but how many foreigners will have held their property for 25years?-Certainly a much smaller percentage. CVS)

Another horror story.
The following section of a letter received by AUN relates to a problem happening near Gandia. The story was recently covered in a newspaper but our AUN member considers the whole thing is a nightmare, even worse than indicated in the article.
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The irrigation water, on which the neighbours rely, has been cut off and according to one neighbour there will be a charge of 1,500 euros to reconnect . Some of the neighbours have shares in the water company and cannot find out the truth. Why should they have to pay for something they already partly own?
Bowsers are being used to bring water to the neighbours but some of the streets are so narrow that, while there are channels excavated in the roads, there is no way the bowsers can reach the houses.

Our friends are among those who have to carry water bottles, gas, shopping etc from the main road where they have to wrestle with other neighbours to park their cars. They needed oil for their CH and that took some organising to be able to get the tanker to them. One of the three channels had to be filled first. Two more still have to be excavated as water, sewage, electricity plus telephone all go into separate channels. However, the workmen have now disappeared to go to other works and no one knows what is happening. I am watching the health of my friends deteriorate and fear they may go the same way as our other friends who have suffered heart attacks.

Some people have refused to pay so that could be an interesting situation. As far as I know the depuradora for the sewage has not yet been built but I could be wrong about that. Heaven help our friends if they ever need the bomberos or an ambulance.

There is an office in the village for people to visit to find out information. No one in the Townhall seems to know if it has a telephone [probably not as there are no lines}, so one has to go there but two of the three entrances to the village are under construction and to get there is a nightmare. Those in attendance have tried to be helpful but so many questions we pose are met with a shrug of the shoulders. Now we have the wet weather so everything has stopped. If the work is finished by December, I will believe in Father Christmas!!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Altea. Valencia Life.
ON DISPLAY All through this current month, the latest urbanizing project for Altea is on display at the town hall. This calls for some 4,622,643 square metres on Bernia Mountain to be reclassified from buildable to non buildable and protected forest. The area in question is the El Aramo zone, and the current plans are that by reclassifying the Bernia land, the Town Hall will be able to give the go-ahead to the Ballester group to create its 'Bridges of Algar' project and create some 5,260 new homes, as well as an 18-hole golf course, three commercial areas, four hotel areas and a park. Also involved is the Quintanes quarry that is to become an attraction in its own right as part of the project.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Pines down, skyscrapers up

A property developer from Orihuela has cut down thousands of pine trees in a protected area of Sierra Escalona (between Murcia and Alicante) and levelled the ground, without permit.
In Cullera, province of Valencia, PP and Unió Valenciana have approved a housing project of 33 skyscrapers with up to 25 floors and in Castalla (Alicante) the Valencian government has approved a plan for 410 houses. These houses have already been built and mostly sold. In some cases, the buyers have moved in without contracts for water and electricity.

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