Laurence Dollimore
A BRITISH couple’s €1.6m home in Spain will be demolished just days before Christmas after it was classed as illegal by the national government.
Lee Pendleton, 50, and his wife Georgie (pictured above), who will receive no compensation, are the latest victims of a decades-long planning scandal that has wrought havoc across Mallorca.
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They bought their apartment in the holiday resort of Port d’Andratx 16 years ago for €550,000.
However it was ordered to be torn down in 2013 after the former mayor of Andratx, Eugenio Hidalgo, was found to have issued ‘illegal’ planning applications to contractors in return for cash kickbacks.
Hidalgo was jailed for two years in 2013 after developer Manuel Zapata admitted paying him tens of thousands of euros for contracts.
It’s a story that was repeated many times across Spain throughout the early 2000s.
Now, Pendelton and 11 others will see their homes reduced to rubble after becoming caught in the crossfire.
Adding salt to the wound, it is rumoured the plot of land will be turned into three luxury villas worth €20million each.
Mr Pendleton told The Telegraph: “It’s heartbreaking. We haven’t even told our children yet. We weren’t in the country when the court issued the eviction notice. We had to ask our friends to save our stuff otherwise it would have gone in the skip…
“We are trying to rescue something from this horrific mess. Even if they knock it down, we still own a portion of the land.”
The property has almost tripled in value since it was bought and the family have spent €400,000 on mortgage repayments and service charges, plus another €100,000 on legal fees to battle the demolition order – ultimately in vain.
Georgie added: “I’m waking up in the night about it, thinking, ‘how can they bulldoze our apartment that’s our home?’ … It makes me feel sick.
“They’ve threatened demolition for years, and we’ve been living on egg shells.”
The affected homeowners, including another Brit and a German, offered to pay the local government €100,000 each to amend the building titles, but their offer was refused.
Pendleton added: “As a non-resident, they won’t interact with you… they’re very happy for you to come in, but then you’re on your own if any issues arise.
“How can you do this to people? The government should be issuing us compensation at market rate level.”
The town hall of Andratx was approached for comment.
