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Spotlight #7: the S’Empeltada area – Deia’s modern community neighbourhoodJanuary 24, 2019

The S’Empeltada area is a new community neighbourhood of sea-facing, stylish and contemporary homes on the sunny side of the Deia. It’s also one of the very few places left on the West Coast of Mallorca where you can create your own dream home, in keeping with Deia’s strict building regulations of course.

Ca Na Mar villa in the S'Empeltada area, Deia. For rent with Charles Marlow & Bros.
Ca Na Mar, for rent in the S’Empeltada area. Still available for selected weeks in 2019. Contact us at rentals@charlesmarlow.com or click the image for more information.

Just a few minutes’ walk from the village but far enough away to offer peace, quiet and contemplation, the S’Empeltada area offers everything that’s wonderful about Mallorca West Coast living. But with a modern outlook.

Apparently, the first couple of houses in the S’Empeltada area were built in the 1950s. These first developers had hoped to build apartment blocks, but this was prohibited by the town hall which only allowed individual houses to be bought. The developers’ loss was the villages gain.

Existing homes in the S’Empeltada area offer all the necessary modern conveniences, including your own pool. Of course, if you’re building your own home on one of the few remaining plots in the S’Empeltada area, you have the luxury of creating your own West Coast way of life.

Building in the S’Empeltada area – architect Peter Hudson offers advice

Architect Peter Hudson came to Mallorca in 1996 together with his wife Jenny, also an architect, to work for Richard Branson on a couple of projects, including the marvellous La Residencia.

A few years later, Peter and Jenny started Hudson Arquitectos in Deia, specialising in one-off family homes mainly for foreign clients. Although they work all over the Balearics, much of their work is in the Tramunatana area, including the West Coast. Hudson Arquitectos is currently working on a mix of new build and refurbishment projects for houses in Deia, Soller, Valdemossa and Campanet.

Son Elvira villa, S'Empeltada area, Deia. For sale with Charles Marlow & Bros.
Son Elvira is located in S’Empeltada. Click the image for the online listing. We recently took on several homes for sale in S’Empeltada – some are not online. Write us on hello@charlesmarlow.com for more information.

Hudson Arquitectos has created one new build house in the S’Empeltada area, which was recently sold by Charles Marlow, and refurbished two others. As Peter says, ‘the S’Empeltada area is a more recently developed part of Deia and one in which it’s theoretically possible to construct relatively large houses compared to the village itself. But, my advice to anyone contemplating a project is to resist the temptation to achieve the maximum floor area allowed and concentrate on quality of space not quantity. This is the approach we’ve always followed, and we’ve tried to make our houses in the S’Empeltada area feel like an authentic part of Deia.’

Deia planning regulations explained

As Peter Hudson explains, ‘The planning rules for Deia are set out in the town plan, which was established in 1992. Deia also comes under the jurisdiction of the heritage department of the island government in Palma, which makes recommendations as to the appearance of each project, so the visual identity of the area is changed as little as possible. The town plan itself strictly defines the building parameters of the various zones of the village, so there’s rarely much argument about the size of what one can build. The issues are more likely to be to do with what a proposal actually looks like. The S’Empeltada area is on Deia urban land. But, outside the urban areas of the municipality, building development is very strictly limited by other island-wide legislation, much of it relatively recent. As in the village, the heritage department has a big say over what’s allowed.’

Hudson Arquitectos agrees that planning and aesthetic rules should be strict. ‘We do our best to respect the materials and proportions of the local vernacular and, very importantly for us, we source materials from the island wherever we can. This still leaves us plenty of room for innovation and we try to achieve a contemporary feel in our work, while being sensitive to the unique sense of place of this beautiful area.’

Near and far enough – the S’Empeltada area is the perfect location

Deia can be calm and tranquil for months on end. But, in the summer months, the village can become rather busy. So, the fact that the S’Empeltada area is a short, easy walk away from the village along a safe path that’s floodlit at night is highly appealing.

You’re also close enough to Cala Deia to be able to walk down for a morning or evening dip in the sea. Followed by a delicious lunch in one of the beaches two fantastic restaurants.

And, as the sun goes down another perfect day of nurturing your blue mind and bathing your brain in awesomeness, you’ll be in the perfect frame of mind for a stroll into the village for dinner and drinks.

If you have a project you’d like to discuss with Peter, his email address is ph.hudarq@gmail.com

We would love to tell you more about rental opportunities in the S’Empeltada area, as well as the homes and plots we have for sale – some of which are not listed online. Please email us at hello@charlesmarlow.com or call +34 971 636 427.

 

 

David Holzer

A freelance writer for many years, David is the author of a number of books and magazine articles, mainly on the subjects of the Beat writers and yoga. He is fascinated by the remarkably rich cultural history of Deia, from Robert Graves to the present day.

David also teaches yoga for writers.

    Whilst a lot of weeks are getting booked up for this season, we still have availability across our collection. Please get in touch to secure your booking for this year's holiday. For more information, leave your details, or call us directly: 0034 971 636 427. If you wish to see an agent, we are happy to set up a video call.