Carry out work in the vicinity of a historic monument
Area protection applies to buildings that form a coherent ensemble with a historic monument or contribute to its conservation or development. Area protection is a public utility easement whose purpose is the protection, conservation and presentation of cultural heritage. Work in the vicinity of historic monuments therefore requires prior authorisation.
Work likely to modify the exterior appearance of a building, built or not built (courtyard or garden for example), protected under the surroundings is subject to prior authorization requiring the approval of the architect of the buildings of France.
Currently, more than half of the 400,000 opinions issued annually by the architects of the Bâtiments de France (ABF) concern historic monuments.
Within the boundaries of the approaches, all work on the buildings protected under the approaches is subject to the agreement of theABF.
In the absence of a defined perimeter, sonly works on buildings located in the field of visibility of a historic monument less than 500 metres from it are subject to the agreement of theABF.
The AFB ensures that the work does not affect the historic monument or the surroundings of the historic monument. It also ensures respect for the public interest attached to heritage, architecture, the natural or urban landscape, the quality of the constructions and their harmonious insertion in the surrounding environment.
TheWork in the vicinity ofs historical monuments and in remarkable heritage sites (link to "Work on a Remarkable Heritage Site") fall under the same scheme authorizing work.
The procedures and time limits for the appraisal of work authorizations have been harmonized by Law no. 2016-925 of 7 July 2016 on the freedom of creation, architecture and heritage.
Any request for authorization of works must be submitted to the town hall of the municipality where the works are planned. The time limits for processing work authorization applications are as follows:
- two months for prior declarations;
- three months for demolition permits and building permits for a single house;
- four months for other building permits and development permits.
The time available to the AFB to agree is one month for advance declarations and two months for all permits.
The AFB’s agreement may include requirements to ensure that the project does not interfere with the conservation or development of the historic monument or approaches.
If the AFB does not agree, the request for a work authorization cannot be granted. An appeal against the refusal of the ABF may be made by the applicants or the competent authority responsible for issuing the work authorisation (usually joint or inter-communal).
While the architect of the buildings of France participates in the appraisal of applications for authorization of works, he also plays a leading role upstream of the realization of the projects.
It can be consulted on a draft project and provide comments that will allow applicants to adapt their project to heritage issues.
