It has taken five years but a group of determined expats have finally won a courtroom showdown with the Spanish developers who left their homes surrounded by an abandoned building site rather than the promised five-star facilties.

The Telegraph | Noticia

The nine Britons who put down off-plan deposits of up to €200,000 each on properties at the Corvera Golf and Country Club near Murcia in 2005 and 2006 were promised that their homes would be part of a complex that would include a five-star hotel and state-of-the-art leisure facilities.

The majority of the proposed facilities were never built while the developers Corvera Golf and Country Club SL allegedly ignored pleas from homeowners to explain why construction had suddenly stopped.

A preliminary hearing in Murcia has now confirmed that the developers will have to answer these allegations in a trial in July next year.

In a separate appeal against the same developers it was proven that they did not have planning permission for the third phase of the development – confirming a suspicion long held by the homeowners.

Alex Radford, a solicitor at the Malaga office of Irwin Mitchell Abogados who is helping the group in their battle for justice, said that the formal setting of a date for trial and the result of the recent appeal are both a major boost in their fight.

He said: “The past couple of years have been fraught with frustration, worry and anger for all of those who put their hard-earned savings into this development with the promise that they would be part of something really special. Shockingly, that promise has never been fulfilled.

“These people deserve answers as to why the facilities they were told would be built have not been and the opportunity to claim their money back from the company.

“We maintain the belief that the developers are in breach of contract and are delighted that those who have been badly let down in this affair will get the chance to have their voices heard in a court of law next year. Corvera should rest assured that come July all of our clients will be present in court to have their say.

The homebuyers who are represented by Irwin Mitchell are thought to be among 100 who put deposits down on homes valued at between €190,000 and €550,000 after falling in love with the plans for Corvera Golf and Country Club.

They became concerned after being chased for final payment on the properties despite the majority of the surrounding leisure facilities not being built and hearing rumours that build licences hadn't been permitted.

One of the property buyers, John Thorpe, from Lincoln, said: “We are all incredibly relieved to know that we will have a chance to stand up and tell authorities in Spain of the terrible ordeal we’ve been through in trying to get answers over the development.

“Like the other families in the group, we simply wanted to invest our savings into a development which offered us a chance of a better future. Sadly, we all feel completely cheated by what’s happened and just want one of two things to happen – the promised facilities to be built or our money back so we can get out of this nightmare.

“It makes me sick to the stomach to think about what’s happened and we will continue to fight to get the answers we want over this.”

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