Two top judges say that there should be demolitions of illegally built property in Marbella

Two top judges say that there should be demolitions of illegally built property in Marbella
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By h.b. - Oct 30, 2007 - 5:50 PM

The Marbella Banana Beach development is one of those in the firing line for demolition - Archive Photo EFE

One judge considers that the concept of 'innocent third parties' simply does not exist

The President of the Andalucian High Court of Justice, Augusto Méndez de Lugo, has repeated that he thinks that there will have to be demolitions of illegally built property in Marbella.

Speaking to the newspaper Público, he described what had been seen in Marbella as ‘wild real estate’, and said that such cases which had respected nothing legally would have to come down.

The PP Mayor Ángeles Muñoz says that there should be no demolitions at all, claiming that those who purchased property did so in good faith.

The Junta de Andalucia estimates that as many as 30,000 homes in the town obtained licences illegally, and of those it is prepared to make as many as 18,000 legal within the new PGOU Urban Plan which is now open to appeal. The regional administration wants to legalise those buildings where the developer can compensate the town by making other land available.

The President of the Andalucian High Court has said that he understands the Town Hall, but 752 of the homes already completed had certainly not passed even the new PGOU. He says it is therefore reasonable to demolish such a number.

His comments come as a new row has erupted over what price the heirs of the deceased Mayor Jesús Gil y Gil should have to pay, after it emerged that Jesús Gil left the princely sum of 854 € in his accounts on his death.

Support for the idea of demolition has also come from Rafael Fernández Valverde, a Magistrate in the Supreme Court where such controversial appeals are heard. He said that in town planning ‘Third parties of good faith’ do not exist – in other words, 'whoever buys a property without legal backing must face the consequences, and if there is a demolition, they have the legal address to make a claim about whoever is guilty’.

He suggests that a fund is created in the regions to face such appeals.

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