23 May, 2012 @ 09:03
1 min read

Road to ruin for expat in Spain

By James Bryce

A BRITISH expat has expressed his despair over plans to build a road through his property.

Patrick Williams, 62, bought his ‘dream home’ after retiring to Spain in 2004 on the understanding that the access road would require a small part of his land.

But the former policeman, who lives with his Spanish wife at the property in Chiclana de la Frontera, was later informed that the plans were much larger than first suggested.

“We were told at the time we bought the property that there were plans for a small access road at the side of the house, which would mean us losing two or three metres of land,” Williams told the Olive Press.

“We were comfortable with that because it is quite a large plot.  “But it was only much later that we were told the road was likely to be much larger, and that it would take between 16 and 18 metres of our land.”

Now instead of enjoying his hard-earned retirement, the Londoner’s life is in a permanent state of limbo over what will happen to his home while plans for the road remain unresolved.

“I don’t know what is happening and it’s always in the back of my mind,” he added. “I spoke to someone at the British Embassy recently but they didn’t want to know, they said they can’t get involved with matters relating to internal law.

“All we wanted, like 99 per cent of people, was to buy a house, settle down, and get on with our lives.  It has caused us seven years of hell.”

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