Sant Jaume de Llierca

Can you build a house on rustic land?

Catalonia allows no new houses on rustic land. Restoring an existing or listed building is the way.

DL 1/2010, art. 47. A town plan can be stricter.

Plan in force: Normas Subsidiarias (an older, simpler plan), from 2006. 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 10 wells and boreholes in Sant Jaume de Llierca. Half of the 9 with a depth found water at 32–65 m. 3 springs are recorded.

Ground: 38% low permeability, local groundwater only; 23% practically impermeable; 20% porous aquifer, medium productivity; 19% porous aquifer, high productivity.

Choosing where to drill takes a hydrogeologist.

What to watch for

• No mapped fire since 2016.
• 5.1% of the municipality lies in the 100-year flood zone; 6.2% in the 500-year one.
• 4.5% of the municipality is preferential flow zone, where new building is generally banned.
• 5.1% 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.
• Radon zone I: new and restored homes need radon protection by law.
• Basic seismic acceleration 0.1 g: new buildings need seismic design.

Living here

• 4G reaches 100% of homes; fibre 97%. Averages for the municipality.
• Rain: 716 mm a year (1971–2000), about 611 by 2041–2070.
• Summer highs: 27.7 °C, about 31.3 °C by 2041–2070.
• Frost days: 51 a year, about 27 by 2041–2070.

Around it

Argelaguer · Sant Joan les Fonts · Santa Pau · Sant Ferriol · Montagut i Oix