Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Lost Altos de la Pedrera

P1010081

One of the plots of land that Star Sol sold was bought by a development company who planned to build 13 houses with a communal grassed area and a swimming pool. The artist’s impression looked very promising and the houses were widely advertised by a number of agents.

The first houses were built and a show house was opened. On offer were three storey 3 and four bedroom houses – some with basement storage. Each house has sun terraces on the upper floors which in most cases offer superb views of the surrounding landscape.

Whilst the pound was strong, the first houses sold fairly quickly. Then the builder hit problems. The land they had bought was not good for building. They had to dig down and down to find a firm foundation to build on. This meant that not only did they use a lot more material for the houses, they could only build nine houses instead of the 13 that were planned.

In the process of digging down, the adjacent road collapsed so they had to build that back up with a solid concrete retaining wall to keep it secure.

No matter, work continued; more houses were started, the pool was constructed and people moved in.

Then the double blow of an economic crisis and a weakened pound hit the builder. Work stopped last year, leaving houses incomplete. Since the builder couldn’t pay for the electricity and water that the occupants were using, the services were cut off leaving the new owners no choice but to abandon their homes. So now none of the houses are lived in.

Hopefully, when the economic situation eases, someone will complete the work and the houses will be occupied as they should be.

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