Tuesday, April 10, 2007
DDE - Planning Office
New version with low lucarnes
Went to the cadastrel office in Dinan today for the plans of the area. The cadastrel plans show each of the parcels of land, the boundaries and the placement of buildings. The office was not terribly helpful but we did arrive just as they were closing. We got the local plan of the house and the surrounding fields and buildings. The cadastrel plan is very important as it shows what land you are buying. Just because there are hedges and fences on 'your' land it doesn't necessarily mean they are the boundaries.
We also went to the DDE (planning office) with the mockup of the building frontage I made yesterday. Again we arrived after they had closed, but they let us in and we spent 30 minutes discussing the project with them. They were very helpful and I think if one is starting a project like this there is no harm in opening a dialogue with the people that will eventually decide the fate of any planning application.
We asked if there was any plans for any new roads or road widening in the area. According to the 'big plan' (plan d'urbanisism), there was no problem. The plan d'urbanisism shows if land is agricultural, building land, industrial use etc).
Unfortunately I can't have the style of lucarnes (dormer windows) I want because the style of the building must be preserved. It's part of the heritage. Bizzarely I can add new 'pointy' lucarnes that I like but not block up or change existing ones. The building used to be a chaumiere (thatched cottage) hence the low window openings upstairs. Personally I think a mixture of styles would look odd, so I guess I'll have to make the new openings in the same style as the old ones.
Asked about selling the plot of land. No way. Land is classified as agricultural and no chance of building unless you are a farmer.
At the DDE they have a architect on-site for consultation, at no charge. Nice service. The people we spoke to suggested we see the architect as they would be able to give some alternatives or find a 'workaround'. My reason for the raised lucarnes was to let more light in.
I need to sleep on it, but maybe it's not a deal breaker, it would make the roofing job cheaper and I wouldn't have to build the lucarnes. Maybe some extra Velux windows would help.
They advised that I should get a Certificate of Urbanisation before signing for the property. The CU is basically outline planning permission and gives you some level of confidence that when purchasing you know you can renovate the property and are not stuck with a lemon. It can be made a condition of sale and takes about two months. The Notaire can oragnise it but would charge a fee or you can apply yourself for free.
| 10:59:57 AM
DDE - Planning Office
