Empty field up for sale at £1.2m

The Pembrokeshire field on the market for £1.2m Enlarge Image

A six-acre field close to a beach in Pembrokeshire has gone on the market for £1.2m.

While the meadow near Newport boasts impressive sea views, the land does not have planning permission.

Arwel Thomas of JJ Morris, who is marketing the field, said agricultural land would usually be expected to fetch about £10,000 an acre.

He said it was unlikely to get planning permission in the short term, but that could change in the future.

By comparison, in another part of Pembrokeshire, at Castlemartin, about 220 acres of land is on sale for £1.5m.

Mr Thomas said the chances of obtaining residential planning consent at the moment were "a long shot".

"But we don't know what's going to happen in the medium or long-term," he added.

Land - they've finished making it you see! It's a fair price Seller Hugh Harries

"We've had interest and inquiries for it already."

Hugh Harries, of Ty Canol Farm, who is selling the land said he believed the asking price was reasonable.

"Land - they've finished making it you see! It's a fair price," he said.

He also mentioned that he had just taken a call from a potential buyer in Ireland.

Councillor Robin Evans, who represents Newport on Pembrokeshire Council and knows Mr Harries, said a lot of people bought second homes in the town, so demand for property was high.

'Living in paradise'

"If whoever buys the land would ever get planning permission is a moot point," he said.

"But if planning permission was obtained which, as I say, is unlikely in the present circumstances, they could build enough properties to make a good deal of money."

The field is not the only unusual property in Wales to raise eyebrows recently over its asking price.

A "dilapidated" shed in Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd went up for sale earlier this year with a price tag of £150,000.

But what makes Newport, located between Fishguard and Cardigan, so attractive that a large field can go up for sale for over £1m?

Mr Evans was not slow to talk up the town: "We're in the national park, there's a fantastic estuary and there's numerous shops and cafes," he said.

"Everything that people need is here.

"I've lived here for best part of 37 years and it's like living in paradise."