Supreme Court reverses Javea payout

A SUPREME COURT ruling brought smiles all round to Javea Town Hall. The Madrid judges annulled a €2.8 million compulsory purchase order given in 2006 by Valencia’s Upper Court (TSJ).

The owners of 95,216 square metres of land in Les Capsades maintained the town hall was required by law to expropriate their land, after the town’s Urban Development Plan (PGOU) rezoned it in 1990 for green spaces.

Javea Town Hall argued that compulsory purchase was the exclusive competence of the state, and the Administration was obliged to buy de-classified land only if previously zoned for development, or when a development plan had been presented.

Neither condition applied to the Les Capsades land, which the town hall valued at €2.8 million, although the owners claimed it was worth €10.6 million. The owners took legal action in 2006, resulting in the TSJ verdict ordering Javea to pay the owners €2.8 million.