500 British residents demonstrated in Almeria

British residents of Almería, demonstrated on Friday in Almeria and marched to the offices of the Regional Government Housing Delegate in the city.The march was organized by AULAN, Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora, No, and came a year to the day that the house belonging to the British couple, Len and Helen Prior was knocked down. Luis Caparrós, the Housing and Town Planning delegate met representatives from the march, including the Priors. He gave an undertaking to find a solution for the couple and this week will see a technical meeting with their lawyers. The Priors are demanding compensation for the loss of their home, they have spent the last year living in a caravan on the site.Many of the demonstrators arrived in Almería city on buses fleeted from the areas of Los Gallardos, Albox, Vera and Cantoria. As well as compensation for the Priors the British are demanding stable water and power supplies, and a final plan to regularize the homes. They consider the current census being carried out by the Junta, reported to be 60% complete over the estimated 5,000 illegal homes in the area, a step in the right direction, but want to know what will happen next. On that point the Housing and Town Planning Delegate made a call for calm.AULAN and Ciudadanos Europeos spokesman, Lenox Napier, said that the British wanted to a buy a home and continue to live in it, without worrying if someone is coming along to knock it down, expropriate it, or to say it is illegal. He said that there were many forms of corruption, fraud and swindle in the province.