Vista Baranc, meaning view over the valley or gorge, is a spacious plot with spectacular views to the local hills and mountains. It is sited in an area where a small number of other properties are located or will be built. All will be widely separated with the closest a hundred metres or more away. Until a few years ago, it was an old working smallholding, today with a small ruined stone building that could be rebuilt as part of the new home, subject to the approval of the final designs in line with the permissions already approved and granted.

Vista Baranc is just a couple of kilometres from Rasquera, an attractive small inland country town in the Tarragona region of Catalonia. Rasquera has most services including a school, a small supermarket, shops, cafes and restaurants.

The plot is mostly gravelly soil over bedrock, with a large central flat area, attractively sloping away on two sides to wooded areas with pines and bushes; this would be ideal for opening up with simple pathways and picnic spots. A large part of the flat area, around where the new home might be built, is terraced with some fig but mainly olive trees. These could be pruned and brought back into productive cultivation, if wished.

(The vendors have been advised that local farmers will agree to prune and maintain the olive trees without charge, in exchange for picking the crop and returning to the owner a percentage of the olive oil produced.)

The plot has a cultivated area of just less than 3.6 acres (1.45 hectares). However, the total area, including the wooded sections, is just over 5.9 acres (2.4 hectares).

The cultivated land is registered and, as is common in Spain, the area to be sold is larger than this registered cultivated land; the site perimeters have been confirmed by the previous owner, a local farmer. Note that the land areas for the land registry and on the official title were surveyed by satellite so the figures quoted are for the flat area which means that, as the site has areas of slope, the actual size is somewhat larger.

The owners’ representative in Spain, an English lady, Spanish resident and fluent Spanish speaker, walked the boundaries with the farmer who used to cultivate the land to check these and the overall land area. The boundaries are confirmed by the land registry and are lodged with the mayor's office in the local community; also, they have been marked on site. Full and clear title to the land and all current permissions are in writing, are legally approved and will be part of the sale.

The services

A new water service has recently been supplied to the site: this is completed with a large bore pipeline, terminating under a manhole cover actually on the site, to which the new owners will be able to connect their property.

Also, a new power line has also been constructed and the transformer for local power is located to the immediate rear of the site, again only needing connecting to the property. The availability of telephone and broadband has not been checked, though mobiles offer a good signal on and around Vista Baranc

The buildings and permissions

At the higher point of the flat area are the remnants of a small two room stone finca, perhaps around 20 to 25 square metres, plus a ruined ancient stone cistern of a further 10 to 12 square metres. The area that this building covered is clear and, subject to the detailed permissions, could be rebuilt. The local community is usually sympathetic to such requests, particularly if the design and reconstruction is in traditional materials and not excessive in size. As noted, detailed design permission for this new development would need to be sought but the irrevocable approval for a new home is established and fully legally valid.

The Vista site has permission for a new building of 75 square metres in area (around 750 sq ft.). This could be a traditional or more contemporary design - or even or even a log cabin, all of which are normally acceptable to the planners. The current owner's local representative in Spain obtained these permissions from the community mayor and would assist the new owners on any follow up matters, subject to a modest professional fee. She would meet serious prospective purchasers and show them the site without charge.

Enquiries could be made as to whether this new home could include the original stone building or if this could be additional. Note that the 75 square metres would be for the occupied area and this size allowance would not include covered terraces, basements or loft spaces that could possibly be built.

The location

The area is surrounded by distant hills giving fine, 360-degree views without any towns or villages in sight, no overhead powerlines, motorways or wind turbines and, as far as searches have shown, none are planned in the area.

The property is off the road from Rasquera to El Perello; this is a coastal town about 20 minutes from the site and close to the coast at the Gulf of Sant Jordi. This road has been recently widened and resurfaced to a very high standard. From this road, a tarmac track around 800 metres long, leads up to the Vista Baranc area, then a few hundred metres of gravel track leads to the actual plot.

As noted, this is in an area where there are a number of other wooded plots of similar size, ensuring that any other properties will be a good distance away, but adding the security that comes from not being isolated. A few properties are already occupied, including one used as a weekend home by a family from Barcelona. The local wisdom goes that if the sophisticated worldly-wise citizens of Barcelona are snapping up sites in this area, then it must be a good buy.

We are advised (but not yet personally checked) that Rasquera can be reached by rough tracks across the countryside, as can the local (usually drybed) river which feeds into the famous Ebro – a large, calm and beautiful river, perfect for sailing and fishing, particularly noted for its giant catfish. It is a marvellous haven of unspoilt nature with abundant wildlife, central to the peaceful region in which the property lies.

Site visits

Prospective purchasers would be welcome to ask for further information. If they wished to visit the site, they would be asked to provide references as a guide to their bona fide intentions. If travelling from outside Spain, the airport of Reus is only around 45 minutes away. Serious prospective buyers could be met at the airport by the vendors’ representative, an experienced property consultant.

As noted, early, she is English and a long-term Spanish resident, extremely well-connected within the local communities. Any travel or accommodation would be at the own expense of prospective purchasers. We can recommend attractive reasonable priced accommodation in the area.

These outline details prepared by the owners, UK residents:

For further details contact: Roger Haywood 01692651494 or 0207 2474670

Offers in the region of €100,000 (approximately £65,000). Details are believed to be correct and are offered in good faith. Prospective purchasers may not use these in any contract or negotiation and are advised to have all details checked and confirmed.