A couple from Sainte-Marie-de-Ré were rejected by the administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux, which they had asked to cancel the building permit granted to their neighbor in January 2020 to build a house and a swimming pool. ..
A couple from Sainte-Marie-de-Ré were rejected by the administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux, which they had asked to cancel the building permit granted to their neighbor in January 2020 to build a house and a swimming pool in “renovating” an old agricultural shed.
These residents of the small rue des Boulangers, in the heart of the town, were worried that this project would “generate views” of their property “given the height, the location on the separating boundary and the openings created”. “The circumstance that a building has in fact lost its agricultural use has no influence on the fact that it was, on the date of the decree, still intended for agricultural use,” they insisted.
No risks
Their neighbor’s new house will in fact be located in a “dense area of old buildings intended for housing”, agrees the administrative court of appeal in a judgment dated May 21, 2024 which has just been made public . The “change of destination” of “existing agricultural constructions” is authorized if it “has the effect of eliminating or reducing the nuisance they cause to the neighborhood”, according to the terms of the Land Use Plan (POS ) of Sainte-Marie-de-Ré.
However, in this case, if “one of the two buildings (…) which will be preserved and renovated” was “initially used as an agricultural shed”, “its use (…) ceased for several years”, note the judges. And there are no “risks” for “public safety”, even if the exit from the field is on the bend of rue des Boulangers.
“Access to the garage (…) is (…) via a shared courtyard with the neighboring property, separated from the street by a sliding gate, the dimensions of which have been enlarged (…) to allow the entry of vehicles” , reassures the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal. The “width of the track” is also “more than three meters” at this location.
The applicant couple was therefore dismissed and will have to pay 1,500 euros to the municipality of Sainte-Marie-de-Ré for their legal costs.