After radio silence from the authorities for several months, I’ve finally received planning permission from the local Mairie for the improvements I’m planning to Nettie!

The consent arrived just in time, as scaffolding will be going up in a couple of weeks so that I can start work.

It’s been an anxious wait, and not a smooth process. France is famous for its bureaucracy, something you can only really appreciate when you live here. I must have become blasé however, as I wasn't too worried. I was wrong.

I’d applied for planning permission once before in France, and the procedure was pretty straightforward. Fill out a long form, attach some sketches and photographs, make five copies of everything and wait.

The original photo I submitted to planning

However, that was some years ago, and in the interest of “simplification”, all the forms have changed. To complicate matters, local planning permissions are now handed in Valognes, 30 km away. Problematic, when you're relying on local knowledge of the property.

Still, I ticked all the boxes, took loads of photos, made drawings with my lovely lightbox (to a 1:50 scale, using a nifty ruler), made all the copies, sent them off and sat back to await permission.

Not so fast said the Mairie.

Since the last time I applied, the local mayor has had his fingers rapped by the organisation in charge of the label “Most Beautiful Villages in France” of which Barfleur is a member.

Dismayed by the number of plastic windows and shutters installed in the village, as well as PVC doors that would be more at home in a suburban villa than a Norman town of historical and architectural significance, the local inspector has clamped down.

Unless the town hall sticks rigidly to their local plan, including detailed specifications for renovations and modifications to houses, they will lose the “Most Beautiful Village” status, and that would be a disaster for tourism.

The process this time was not to be so easy.

The form is quite specific as to what is required (you can see it here), however some leeway has always been allowed. When submitting permission for renovations, you are required to provide:

· A plan of the property (normally the plan cadastral)

· A scale plan of the facades and rooflines (before the work)

· A scale plan showing the modifications

· A drawing showing the project in its surrounding

· A photo showing the project in its surroundings

While this all seems quite simple in theory, the reality is different.

The first hint something was amiss was when I received a letter from the Mairie. The shutters were shown closed on the drawings and the photo – could I resubmit photos and drawings with them open? Also, there was no drawing of house in situ, and no, a photo was not sufficient. Also, the scale was “incoherent”.

OK, fair enough I thought (although I'm not changing the windows, so why shutters open?), and redid the drawings and photos with the shutters open and clarified that the scale was 1/50ième (one to fifty).

I also sourced a cool piece of software that translated a photo to a drawing, although why they would need a drawing as well as a photo was a bit of a mystery (the original photo is below, and the drawing is at the top of the article).

Another wait, and then another official notification. They still didn’t have enough information. I needed to provide a drawing and photographs of the fence to be raised, before and after, and also show the tiles on the roof (y tho??). OK, no problem.

I also had to specify the materials and techniques to be used. Wouldn’t it be simpler, I asked when I visited the deputy mayor, for them to specify what materials they’d like me to use? Not possible I was told.

We pored over the fifty page document describing the local requirements for renovations. He was as mystified as me. Still, I did what they asked.

Three weeks later, another letter. What colour would the fence be? How high? And what colour the tiles? I’d already specified these details numerous times, but I got out my light box, knocked up some more drawings and sent them back.

To be completely fair, the local office was very apologetic. I was being incredibly patient they said. It’s those people in Valognes they said.

The new drawing showing the tiles and shutters open!

And in reality I don’t have any problem with this. I’m a bit of a purist myself, and it pains me to see the lovely old granite houses disfigured by PVC windows and doors in clashing styles and colours.

Don’t get me wrong. PVC, double glazing and the like are essential materials when you live close to the sea as we do. The weather’s brutal on the houses, and the people too. I’m just sad that technology can’t be used to make these materials mimic natural wood and vernacular styles, so that the natural beauty and proportions of these lovely Norman facades remain intact.

Anyway, planning permission is in the bag, and I'm ready to start work.

Scaffolding is going up next week, so watch this space. Plus I’ve been working on sourcing materials to beautify Nettie like this wonderful terrazzo, perfect for countertops!