Eloise Horsfield
THE Olive Press is meeting Mijas mayor this morning to discuss a law that has prevented victims of the Malaga fires rebuilding their homes.
Reporter Frances Leate has met Mayor Angel Nozal along with members of the Phoenix Campaign to decide together the best way to move forward.
The meeting kicked off at Mijas Town Hall at 11am today.
Pat Laing, chairman of the campaign, said: “This is a very important and significant step forward and we are looking forward to meeting the mayor and talking through with him what needs to be done to get people back in their homes.”
The Phoenix Campaign was launched earlier this month by the Olive Press and victims of the fires to put pressure on Mijas Town Hall.
Hundreds of fire victims have been waiting for the go-ahead to make their homes liveable again after being forced to wait three months to start crucial repair work.
But for countless homes that were built without planning permission many years ago, homeowners must first get permission from their town halls, who then in turn need to seek final clearance through the Junta.
Many have been left homeless since the fires ripped through Malaga, destroying their properties in September and are facing an agonising wait which could be months or even years.
They say they are prepared to fight every step of the way and may even take to the streets in protest.
The town hall is not the Junta.
This could set a dangerous precedent.If permission is given, all illegal dwelling owners can set light to their property and risk all around them,because they know they will than get the permission to re-build. Would they build illegal in the UK NO, because they know it would be pulled down. So why do so in another country and ignore the law!
Goodness me Edith, have you never read any of the hundreds of examples of lies and fiddles perpetrated by estate agents, lawyers and town hall apparatchiks, down the years? The majority of people in “illegal homes” fully believed they were within the law. In Spain, listen carefully, the law is a burro!