Authorisations for work in protected areas
The protected areas under the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture consist of the protection areas around historic monuments and remarkable heritage sites.
The common factor in these “protected areas” is to delineate perimeters within which particular attention is paid to the quality of the work carried out there because of the cultural and heritage interests that must be preserved, including titles in history, architecture, urban planning, landscape, archaeology, etc.
Protection areas around historic monuments, commonly referred to as "approaches", are intended to preserve the environment of historic monuments (classified or inscribed) in such a way as to avoid negative impacts in terms of their development.
Remarkable heritage sites, created by law no. 2016-925 of 7 July 2016 on the freedom of creation, architecture and heritage that replace the old protective devices : protected areas, architectural, urban and landscape heritage protection areas (ZPPAUP), architectural and heritage development areas (AVAP).
All these spaces are attended in particular by the architects of the buildings of France, experts placed within the regional directorates of cultural affairs - Departmental units of architecture and heritage.
In addition to the advice they can give upstream, they have a supervisory power when considering applications for work authorizations, which is most often expressed by an opinion which is «in accordance» that is to say which is required for the competent authority to issue its decision (declaration, preliminary, permit to demolish, construct, develop, special authorizations).
Who are your contacts?
The town hall is your first point of contact: find out if your project is in a protected area.
Many town halls have an urban planning document - local urban plan (PLU) or communal map - with a map of protected areas in the annex: it is a public document of free access and sometimes available on the website of the town hall.
Consult the Heritage Atlas to find out if your project is first or in a remarkable heritage site
Theconsultant architect of your municipality as well as the architectural, urban and environmental consulting (CAUE) of the department can guide you free of charge in the development of your project. However, these consulting architects cannot fulfill the role of a prime architect.
The departmental unit of architecture and heritage (UDAP) is also at your disposal when your project is located in a protected area. Thearchitect of the buildings of France is able to help guide your project and help you develop it in harmony with the surrounding context. This advisory role is free of charge to individuals, professionals and administrations prior to work authorization applications.
