Costa de Almería
Expats call protest in Vera against recent house demolition
By m.p.
Jan 23, 2008 - 6:18 PM

A demonstration takes place outside the Town Hall in Vera this Sunday against the recent demolition of the house owned by a British couple, Len and Helen Prior, in the area of La Loma, in Vera. Their retirement home was brought down on a court order which ruled that it was built illegally on rustic land, despite the fact that it was built with planning permission from the local Town Hall. It’s understood the ruling was based on the Andalucía Land Law, which 20 minutos said came into effect in the same year permission was granted.

It’s thought to be the first case of a British-owned home in Spain to be demolished in such a way and, according to a real estate agent in Albox, who is a member of the Valle del Almanzora Association of Promoters and Constructors, it could affect many more in the area. He said in an interview with 20 minutos, that many properties in the district were built in line with local development plans which were no longer in force, but which were being used in the interim until the revised plan came into effect. What is important now, he said, is to ‘find a solution between all those affected – the administration, constructors and owners’ – so as not to lose credibility on the foreign property market.

He believes everyone has their share of the blame, but the problem now is to find a solution so that families are not ‘left out on the street.’