Spain's environment minister Cristina Narbona has presented a EUR 5 bn proposal to demolish hotels, apartments and other properties built illegally along a 700-kilometre stretch of the country's coastline. The plan requires local authorities to conclude agreements with developers who have ignored regulations for decades to build facilities for the Spanish tourist industry and the thriving expatriate market. Narbona's plan calls for compensation for owners of properties that face removal. But if agreement cannot be reached, the local authority would have the power to use a compulsory purchase order.
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