A fresh example of planning abuse has emerged in Torrevieja, this time involving alleged favouritism in the town planning office towards certain groups or people. The Green Party of Torrevieja has raised the alarm, reports the Spanish press.

It started more than 6 years ago, when the German owner of a plot in the Finca Lago Sol, in Torrevieja, was denied planning permission to build a 200 m2 house on a plot of 5,000 m2. Turning down the application, planning officials argued the plot wasn’t big enough under local planning regulations.

The plot was then sold, and planning objections mysteriously disappeared with the change of ownership. The new owner was allowed to build a villa of 750 m2 on the very same plot, with no opposition from the town planning authorities.

Dolón García, of the Green Party, points out that whilst the German owner was refused building permission after following all the rules, the new owners were allowed to build without following any rules.

As a result, the Green Party of Torrevieja has decided to report the town hall for systematic abuse of planning rules in the municipality, and for “the arbitrary and biased way in which the town hall controls this type of construction.”

According to the Greens this shows that, “depending upon who you are, you might have to comply with all the rules in the book, or you might not have to comply with any.”