NOWHERE TO BE HEARD

HOLLYWOOD star Amber Heard has moved to an anonymous, suburban street in a sleepy Madrid barrio

Fresh from a series of hard fought court battles with ex-husband Johnny Depp she has bought a €1.7 million, 200 m2 villa on the outskirts of the city, it has been reported.

Heard’s luxury residence is located in El Viso, one of the wealthi est and most exclusive neighbourhoods of the Spanish capital.

After selling her home in Yucca Valley, California for €1 million, Heard initially settled with her young daughter in Costitx, Mallorca. However, despite her attempt to go by a pseudonym, Heard’s presence in the small town caused quite a stir in the area, so she sought out some where else she could go unnoticed.

Surrounded by the crème de la crème of Madrid, Heard can adopt a more anonymous lifestyle in El Viso, where she is neighbours with Spanish stars including Mar Flores and Xabi Alonso.

Heard recently gave an interview in fluent Spanish, revealing her intentions to stay in Spain.

A friend of Heard echoed Amber’s hopes of staying out of the Hollywood limelight.

“She’s bilingual in Spanish and is happy there, raising her daughter away from all the noise,” the source said.

“I don’t think she’s in a hurry to go back to work or Hollywood, but she’ll be back when the time is right, for the right project.” record since the scheme was introduced in 2013.

Only 2019 (2,656) and 2021 (2,507) saw more Golden Visas issued.

One investor can apply for multiple residency permits for family members and dependants.

The Spanish government has come under renewed pressure from Brussels and Spain’s leftwing parties to shut down the Spanish scheme.

The Spanish government says it plans to reconsider the scheme. This could involve increaseing the investment threshold from €500,000 to €1million or possibly to terminate it. But with the general election due next month nothing will be done in the near future.

NEARLY 100 empty properties are being seized from their owners in Catalunya.

So far 70 flats are being expropriated from large property owners in a bid to create more council housing.

The apartments - located around the region, from Tarragona to Vic - will be converted to social housing in areas of high residential demand.

It comes after a law was passed by the Catalan Parliament in 2022 allowing local authorities to expropriate a home if it remained unoccupied for more than two years.

Initially owners are being allowed to take action and rent out their homes, or to come up with a good excuse.

Letters to the owners are going out this month and if no ‘acceptable’ answer is given, they will be expropriated. The regional government has set aside €5 million to buy an initial 50 to 70 flats at a fair rate.

“We are doing everything we can to help families in a vulnerable situation,” explained regional councillor Juli Fernandez.