Arcos de la Frontera

Can you build a house on rustic land?

Andalucía requires at least 2.5 ha for a new house on rustic land.

Other cases: 5 ha on forest land.

Decreto 550/2022, art. 31. A town plan can be stricter.

Plan in force: Plan General (a full town plan), from 1996. The region's planning viewer ↗

The national urban information system (SIU) maps the land class for 100% of the municipality.

Only the town hall can confirm it, in writing: ask for a certificado urbanístico.

Is there water?

IGME records 179 wells and boreholes in Arcos de la Frontera. Half of the 175 with a depth found water at 6–98 m. One measured yield: 80 L/s. 26 springs are recorded.

Ground: 29% practically impermeable; 26% low permeability, local groundwater only; 25% porous aquifer, medium productivity; 13% porous aquifer, high productivity.

Choosing where to drill takes a hydrogeologist.

What to watch for

• One fire since 2016 reached the municipality: 1 ha, in 2021.
• 1.5% of the municipality lies in the 100-year flood zone; 1.5% in the 500-year one.
• 0.5% of the municipality is preferential flow zone, where new building is generally banned.
• 6.1% of the municipality is Natura 2000: new works need the region's consent.
• 5.1% of the municipality is a protected natural area, whose plan limits what can be done.
• Not a radon zone.

Living here

• 4G reaches 100% of homes; fibre 89%. Averages for the municipality.
• Rain: 668 mm a year (1971–2000), about 567 by 2041–2070.
• Summer highs: 32.4 °C, about 35.6 °C by 2041–2070.
• Frost days: 1 a year, about 0 by 2041–2070.

Around it

Bornos · Algar · San José del Valle · Espera · Prado del Rey · Villamartín · El Bosque · Benaocaz