https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Almost any type of restoration work or home renovations requires planning permission in Spain, unlike in other countries such as the UK where you only need planning permission for major changes like extensions. https://www.thelocal.es/20210225/do-i-need-planning-permission-in-spain-and-how-do-i-apply-for-it Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:40:25 +0100 do-i-need-planning-permission-in-spain-and-how-do-i-apply-for-it A Madrid apartment block collapsed on Monday just hours after it was evacuated when residents reported the appearance of large cracks during the night. https://www.thelocal.es/20150803/block-of-flats-collapses-after-cracks-appear Mon, 03 Aug 2015 17:03:46 +0200 block-of-flats-collapses-after-cracks-appear After six tough years, Spain's ailing building sector is finally coming back to life, with public sector projects fuelling a lot of the new growth. https://www.thelocal.es/20141210/spain-starts-to-build-again Wed, 10 Dec 2014 09:54:03 +0100 spain-starts-to-build-again Spain's building sector grew seven percent in the second quarter of 2014 making it the top performer in the European Union, welcome news for the sector that was left battered and bruised by Spain's economic crisis. https://www.thelocal.es/20140821/spains-building-sector-fastest-growing-in-eu Thu, 21 Aug 2014 17:45:00 +0200 spains-building-sector-fastest-growing-in-eu Wages below the legal minimum, contracts in a language they don't understand and blackmail tactics to keep them quiet: just some of the problems a group of Spanish builders in Holland contracted by a German firm have decided to speak out against. https://www.thelocal.es/20140414/spanish-builders-conditions-enslaved-german-employer Mon, 14 Apr 2014 12:38:00 +0200 spanish-builders-conditions-enslaved-german-employer Bankruptcy filings soared to a record high in Spain in 2013, official data showed on Thursday, with the construction industry in particular still reeling five years after a property market crash. https://www.thelocal.es/20140206/spanish-bankruptcies-hit-the-roof-in-2013 Thu, 06 Feb 2014 13:14:54 +0100 spanish-bankruptcies-hit-the-roof-in-2013 French builders claim Spanish companies are stealing work from them, paying lower wages and cutting corners to win construction contracts. https://www.thelocal.es/20140122/spaniards-are-taking-our-job-french-builders Wed, 22 Jan 2014 17:17:00 +0100 spaniards-are-taking-our-job-french-builders Town hall authorities at the Italian city claim a multi-million euro bridge designed by Spanish super-architect Santiago Calatrava has needed €464,000 ($633,000) in repair costs since it was erected in 2008. https://www.thelocal.es/20140113/venice-sues-spains-most-notorious-architect Mon, 13 Jan 2014 15:14:00 +0100 venice-sues-spains-most-notorious-architect The grand opening of Chile's first ever drawbridge has been delayed after allegations at least one traffic deck had been installed upside down. Now the country's president is blaming the project's Spanish developer for the mistake. https://www.thelocal.es/20140108/spanish-builders Wed, 08 Jan 2014 18:05:00 +0100 spanish-builders Panama canal officials and an international consortium tasked with expanding the major waterway made rival offers on Tuesday aimed at ending a $1.6 billion dispute that threatens to paralyze the project. https://www.thelocal.es/20140108/sacyr-closes-in-on-panama-canal-deal Wed, 08 Jan 2014 10:35:00 +0100 sacyr-closes-in-on-panama-canal-deal Spain's government said on Friday it was in talks with Panama and Spanish builder Sacyr to try an hammer out a solution to a row over a $1.6 billion (€1.17 billion) cost overrun on expansion work on the Panama Canal. https://www.thelocal.es/20140103/spain-seeks-solution-for-stalled-panama-canal-project Fri, 03 Jan 2014 15:57:00 +0100 spain-seeks-solution-for-stalled-panama-canal-project Panama's president warned on Thursday he would visit Europe to force a Spanish-led consortium to drop a threat to suspend expansion work on the Panama Canal, as a row over a $1.6 billion (€1.17 billion) cost overrun escalated. https://www.thelocal.es/20140103/panama-president-steps-up-row-over-canl Fri, 03 Jan 2014 09:53:00 +0100 panama-president-steps-up-row-over-canl A Spanish-led consortium threatened on Thursday to halt a massive, $5.3 billion (€3.9-billion) expansion of the Panama Canal, which handles five percent of world maritime trade, because of a row over cost overruns. https://www.thelocal.es/20140102/spanish-firms-stall-panama-canal-work Thu, 02 Jan 2014 12:57:00 +0100 spanish-firms-stall-panama-canal-work The Local has covered everything from to stupid thieves to crazy laws in 2013. Here are our ten most read articles of the last twelve months in terms of total page views. https://www.thelocal.es/20131231/the-locals-most Tue, 31 Dec 2013 15:24:00 +0100 the-locals-most Bargain hunters visiting the Spanish portal of auction site ebay on Monday were startled to find that one of Spain's regional governments was up for sale at a rock-bottom price. https://www.thelocal.es/20131119/joke-ebay-ad-sells-spanish-parliament-for Tue, 19 Nov 2013 15:58:00 +0100 joke-ebay-ad-sells-spanish-parliament-for US software billionaire Bill Gates has given Spain’s ailing construction industry a boost by investing a small share of his €50 billion ($67 billion) fortune in Barcelona-based company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC). https://www.thelocal.es/20131022/huge-bill-gates-deal-boosts-spains-building-sector Tue, 22 Oct 2013 13:31:00 +0200 huge-bill-gates-deal-boosts-spains-building-sector Dozens of people risked injury in a perilous treasure hunt on Wednesday after a rumour circulated that €3,000 ($4,000) in cash was buried in the ruins of a collapsed building in Catalonia. https://www.thelocal.es/20130704/hidden-cash-rumour-sparks-rubble-ransack Thu, 04 Jul 2013 19:46:00 +0200 hidden-cash-rumour-sparks-rubble-ransack