Hollywood A-list stars Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffiths have been ordered to hand back some of their Spanish land thanks to the current Spanish crackdown on illegal properties.

The couple have been ordered to hand over 14,000 square feet of land from their $10 million Spanish beachfront home. The land in question is the area from the beach up to the edge of their 40 foot long swimming pool. The beach will now be given public access.

The Spanish mansion is near Marbella in an area called La Gaviota. The pair bought the six bedroomed villa 12 years ago having rented it for the year previously when Banderas used it to help rehearse for the film The Mask of Zorro. The Spanish villa was given a building license two years previously.

In 2003 the Andalusian High Court ruled that the building license should not have been granted. Last year Banderas was ordered to knock down a 300 square foot wing of the villa. Banderas is currently still in the appeal process, hoping to overturn this planning decision.

The Spanish government are currently cracking down on property that has been given planning permission despite being built on green-belt land. Although several properties were bulldozed in early 2008, a court has ruled that demolition is illegal and so homeowners are now being notified of the issues with their houses. Around 500 miles of Spanish coastline are currently being targeted leaving many Spanish property investors concerned over the status of their investments.

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