It may well be possible to protect your property from a commercial developer - particularly in China it seems - but in this country beware of holding out on a Government or Local Authority development scheme since you may not have an option but to sell. Compensation packages are available with a Compulsory Purchase Order but will it compensate for the loss of your home?
A shabby old shop that became an architectural landmark has evaded the bulldozer for a second time - almost 90 years after its first escape. Spiegelhalter's is the British equivalent of the Chinese "nail house".It's a popular theme in movies and television. A plucky home or business-owner refuses repeated offers from a bullying property developer. In China, it's now a frequent occurrence. Images circulate of lone buildings surrounded by rubble or where the developers have gone ahead and built around them. They are known as "nail houses" because they refuse to be hammered down. Some owners go to extraordinary lengths to keep their properties intact, even as skyscrapers and shopping centres rise above them and roads are planned to run through them.
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