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north EDITION
30 MAR- 04 apr 2012
IMPORTANT! The Easter edition of RTN will be available next Thursday morning. Flight chaos as strike bites
fearing the country could be brought to a standstill, airlines cancelled hundreds of flights ahead of the general strike p4
Home team wins
Beware of Leishmania
Leishmania, known as the Silent Disease is a potentially fatal disease affecting dogs and is worrying local vets p6 The winning team (from left) Eric and Margaret with Mayor Cesar Sanches, Councillor Ana Sala Fernandez and Councillor Carole Saunders
Safety net strengthenseuro stability and confidence has been brought back to the single currency after the fears of its imminent collapse p30
Go to the gym for free RTN Readers can try the gym at Fitness Corpore completely FREE of charge! p48
NetSecure SmartSwipe Gadget Inspector takes a look at the future of online shopping p57
by jack troughton TEAMWORK HELPED a retired couple win back a portion of their land “sold twice” by a Costa Blanca estate agent in money-spinning land grab. Neighbours purchased 250 square metres of property belonging to Eric and Margaret Carney prior to the couple moving to Spain and built a small and illegal ‘casita’ next to their own villa, disguising the building behind a huge wall – also an illegal construction. It was only when Eric and Margaret decided to sell their home on Cucarres, Calpe, and checked the deeds before putting the villa on the market they realised something was wrong and part of their property was ‘missing’.
And it forced the retired hoteliers to begin a bitter battle, backed by Calpe’s Association of Foreign Property Owners (AFPO), Councillor Carole Saunders, and more recently since the local elections last May, Mayor Cesar Sanchez and Councillor for Town Planning Ana Sala Fernandez. Eric and Margaret purchased the villa from estate agent Joaquim Morato in 2005 but despite extensive renovations and building a legal swimming pool decided the property was too big. In 2007 the couple discovered the error – and that the neighbours had purchased a parcel of their land from the estate agent for 22,000€. Relations with the family next door soured as they
attempted to find a solution – Margaret was assaulted by one of the sons, at a time when she was recovering from heart surgery. Last month after prolonged court proceedings, the neighbours twice appealed, the illegal building was demolished and the land returned. The Carneys were awarded costs but are still waiting for the cash. The couple paid tribute to their team and said joining AFPO was the best thing they were ever advised to do. “They have been with us through all the four and a half years, talking to us and supporting us and fighting the town hall on our behalf. Continued on page 3