For over fifty years, the modest wooden cabins dotting Albufereta beach in Alicante have represented an idyllic way of life for a community of British expats and Spanish families. Now, this coastal haven faces complete eradication under the threat of bulldozers.
The Valencian regional government has issued demolition orders for 74 properties in the El Campello area, citing a 1988 law that designates the land as protected public domain. For residents who purchased their homes in good faith decades ago, the ruling represents a catastrophic and bewildering injustice.
A Community Fights Back
"We are fighting for our lives, for our homes," says British expat Jane Smith, a long-term resident whose family has spent summers in their cabin for generations. "We bought this property legally, paid our taxes every year, and suddenly we're being treated like criminals. The emotional devastation is unimaginable."
Residents argue they are victims of a legal contradiction. While their homes are now deemed illegal, they continue to receive and pay annual property taxes (IBI) from the local council—a practice that fuels their sense of betrayal.
The Heart of the Conflict
The dispute centres on the Ley de Costas (Coastal Law), designed to protect Spain's shoreline from overdevelopment. Authorities maintain the law is clear: construction on protected dunes was and remains prohibited.
Homeowners counter that the plots were legally urbanised when they bought them and that subsequent legal changes are being applied retroactively, unfairly penalising them for the failures of past planners and developers.
An Uncertain Future
With court appeals exhausted, the demolition clock is ticking. The community's last hope lies in a desperate plea for political intervention and a potential amendment to the law that would recognise their right to exist.
The plight of the Costa Blanca homeowners highlights a wider tension across Spain's coastline, pitting environmental protection against property rights, and leaving hundreds of families in a heartbreaking limbo.
