British government minister Chris Bryant lobbies for planning amnesty in Andalucia

“The housing market in Spain is not going to recover quickly if pictures of bulldozers knocking down expats’ homes are appearing in British newspapers.” That was Chris Bryant, the UK’s Minister for Europe, stating the obvious yesterday whilst appealing to Spain’s economic self interest to halt plans to demolish more British owned homes in Spain.

Minor victory for retired British owners of demolished home

Len and Helen Prior, the British pensioners whose home in Vera, Andalucia, was unlawfully demolished by the authorities, at last have something to cheer about in their battle for compensation. They can now move out of their garage, where they have been living for the last 2 years since their home was demolished in front [...]

More homes and lives demolished in Almeria

2 Years ago the regional Government of Andalucia horrified the world by demolishing the Vera home of British pensioners Len and Helen Prior, arguing that it had been illegally built despite planning permission from Vera’s town hall. The same cruel treatment now awaits the owners of 8 properties in Albox, Almeria, whose homes will all [...]

New coastal boundary creates problems for villa owners near Javea

A new boundary that nationalises 15 kilometres of private land on the coast near Javea (North Costa Blanca) is set to cause serious problems for the owners of around 1,000 villas in the area, reports the Spanish press. Around one hundred owners may have to demolish all or part of their properties as a result, [...]

‘Land Grab’ article in leading Spanish daily faces some home truths

Spain has come in for a lot of criticism from abroad, principally the British press and the European Parliament, about the abuse of property rights and the environment during Spain’s gold-rush property boom of the last decade, but there was surprisingly little discussion of these issues in Spain’s mainstream press.

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