Medina Sidonia

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: Normas Subsidiarias (an older, simpler plan), from 1995. 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 97 wells and boreholes in Medina Sidonia. Half of the 93 with a depth found water at 13–84 m. 14 springs are recorded.

Ground: 78% low permeability, local groundwater only; 14% porous aquifer, high productivity.

Choosing where to drill takes a hydrogeologist.

What to watch for

• 2 fires since 2016 reached the municipality: 50 ha in all, the latest in 2026.
• 2.8% of the municipality lies in the 100-year flood zone; 3.7% in the 500-year one.
• 44% of the municipality is Natura 2000: new works need the region's consent.
• 19% of the municipality is a protected natural area, whose plan limits what can be done.
• Not a radon zone.

Living here

• 4G reaches 92% of homes; fibre 85%. Averages for the municipality.
• Rain: 713 mm a year (1971–2000), about 591 by 2041–2070.
• Summer highs: 31.4 °C, about 34.3 °C by 2041–2070.
• Frost days: 0 a year, about 0 by 2041–2070.

Around it

Vejer de la Frontera · Benalup-Casas Viejas · Paterna de Rivera · Alcalá de los Gazules · Chiclana de la Frontera · Puerto Real · Tarifa · Los Barrios