The Dream Home, Demolished
The photo shown here depicts the moment eight years ago when Len and Helen Prior saw their dream home in the sun demolished right before their eyes.
Since then they have been living in their garage and fighting hard to get some compensation for their loss.
The bulldozers were moved in to demolish their Almeria home in January 2008 due to “planning irregularities” despite the fact that the Priors had all the necessary paperwork which had been signed off by the town hall.
After an eight-year battle for recompense, the couple, originally from Berkshire, are set to receive compensation to the tune of €425,185.43, plus interest. The award follows a ruling from the court in Almeria but this can be appealed by the town hall.
Maura Hillen, president of campaign group AUAN, said enough is enough. “The Priors did nothing wrong except to trust the Spanish state and its legal system and whilst fortunately things have changed in the last year, those changes come too late for Helen and Len Prior.”
She added that the Priors should be compensated “once and for all”. Hillen went on to say that it is not acceptable that the Priors must continue to suffer moral damage by living in their garage, the only part of their home which remains standing.
During the demolition Len Prior collapsed due to the stress of seeing his dream property come crashing down. The couple were only given a few hours in which to empty the home of their belongings before the bulldozers set about destroying it.
Many homeowners faced financial ruin after licenses and planning applications were ruled irregular and many people lost their homes without receiving a penny in compensation. This had a huge detrimental effect on the countries property market which was already suffering due to the global financial crisis.
Across Spain, mayors and other councillors were indicted for “unusual” practice with some accused of accepting bribes in return for building licences and planning permission.
Perhaps the most famous of these is “Operation Malaya”. This was one of the largest corruption trials ever seen in Spain and it ended with 53 convictions. In total, 95 people were accused of irregular activity in Marbella on a so-called “cash-for-votes” system which allegedly amassed €670m in bribes.
