The Spanish government has declared war on the illegally built holiday homes along its coastline. Spanish law dictates that no buildings can be erected within 500 metres of the water. But there are some 300,000 homes in Spain that have been built in contravention of that law. Many of them belong to Britons, Scandinavians and Germans. In the past, threats to have the buildings pulled down were never followed through. But now the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is cracking down. The government is focusing more on environmental protection, and says the building up of the coastline has to be reversed - also with a view to revitalizing the country's tourism industry.
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