What do Michael Douglas, Boris Becker and yours truly all have in common? Sadly, it's not a nice fat bank account, but the fact that we've all fallen foul of planning regulations on Mallorca.
All The Boss and I wanted was a small outbuilding to house the solar batteries, invertor and back-up generator to provide electricity. So we sought the advice of some mallorquin builders. Si, they said, shrugging their shoulders as they stood in our field; officially, we needed permission but, given our remote rural location, they thought that our little building was unlikely to come to the attention of The Powers That Be.
We're normally completely law-abiding but, when they warned that it could take more than a year to obtain permission, our decision was made. Until we had this little building, we couldn't have electricity - and there's a limit to how long a girl can survive without a hairdryer!
So construction began, and - apart from guttering and external painting - was completed, when we were denounced. We still don't know who denounced us (our neighbours are all lovely), but we later discovered that the police regularly cruise around the lanes looking for exactly our type of infringement.
We had to apply for retrospective planning permission and were warned that without it we'd have to demolish the building. Things were looking very bleak for our little home in the country . . .
Fortunately, our architect was a real star, and had worked with several local councils. The application was submitted and, based on his optimism, we proceeded with the installation of our solar power energy system. Just as well, really, as it took 18 months for a positive decision to be made!
Having the combined bank balances of Michael and Boris couldn't have made me any happier than receiving that prized permit . . .
Copyright Jan Edwards 2008
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