Spanish dream home turns into a nightmare
Friday, March 2, 2012 @ 11:56 AM
A RETIRED couple face after their dream home was deemed to have been built illegally.
John and Jenny Harvey moved from Hunmanby to Spain and invested £210,000 – their life savings – in a two-acre farm in the white-washed Andalucian village of Lanjaron.
But now they must undo thousands of pounds of renovations to their property – or face a £68,000 fine, the local authority has ruled after investigating a breach of planning laws.
The decision “has ruined our lives” said Mrs Harvey, 62, a former legal executive for Martin Summers in Hunmanby.
The Harveys say they have been “persecuted” and are the victims of “deceit, fraud and theft”. They insist work to upgrade a farm building to a two-bedroom villa was carried out in line with planning permission.
Read more at Scarborough Evening News