OUR HOUSE IN CORREZE
First moves and future plans. In their third article Peter and Lesley Wilson recall how they set up home and started planning for the future.
It was October 2006 exactly one year since we had made the decision to buy the cottage. We were again relying on the hospitality of our friends Kim and Pip for food and lodging as we did not have the keys when we arrived and, anyway, we had no furniture in France. On our first day we travelled to the Notaire’s office in Pompadour and were handed an envelope containing about twenty keys of various sizes. Back in Segur the four of us walked up to the cottage and began to try out the keys. We were not sure what to expect but we found that the previous owner had cleared out all the furniture but had left us a working kitchen. The building needed cleaning and painting inside and the garden was definitely in need of a trim but overall we were pleased with what we had found.
We were lucky as the weather was warm and dry and so we decided to have a go at the laurel surrounding the house in order to get some light into the property.
For nearly a week we chopped and sawed and we became regulars at the local dechetterie. We even found an exterior light which had been completely covered by laurel. We gave the interior a thorough clean and put a coat of white paint on all the walls. During this time Kim and Pip continued to be our lifeline by providing three meals each day and a much needed bed each night and we returned to the UK feeling that we had accomplished quite a lot.
Our next visit was in February 2007 and this time we travelled in a hired transit van full of furniture. While we unloaded the van and got things into some sort of order we again spent the first couple of days with the Priors but finally we got to stay in the cottage. Over the next few days the van earned it’s keep as we were back and forth to the dechetterie with the huge pile of wood which we had left in the middle of the garden. Our nearest neighbour called bearing a dozen eggs and another neighbour showed us his garden and offered the use of his rotavator. Lesley painted the front door and a number of villagers passed by curious to see what was happening. The Easter break followed a similar routine with more cleaning, painting and gardening but our thoughts, rather belatedly, began to turn to the job of developing the roof space.
We were both still working and so we felt that we needed someone to look after the project and, initially, get us the planning permission that we would need. We knew that it would be difficult because we were within 500m of the ruined chateau and in a conservation area. We got in touch with an estate agent in the next town and asked if they knew of a suitable person. They replied saying that they knew of an “RCIS surveyor who was well versed in the demands of the French administration and who had drawn plans and project managed”. This sounded just what we were looking for and so we e-mailed him and received a prompt reply which said “your project is quite typical of the sort of work we do”. This was just before we descended on Segur for our first summer and so we arranged to meet him in July. Our man came and discussed our plans and measured up everything (with his laser tape measure) and said he would return with some draft plans.
The summer passed. The two months of July and August are when the village comes alive with a farmers’ market every Monday, painters in the street, a jazz concert, the cul noir (festival of the black-bottomed pig) and many other events.
It may be best now just to list what happened next.
December 2007: The first set of plans arrived with two possible layouts for the roof space.
End of January 2008: We approved a final draft and tried to pay for the work that had been done. The cheque did not arrive and, at that point, we should have realised that this was not a very efficient organisation. It turned out that the facture that was sent had an old address as a letterhead! Anyway we cancelled the cheque and sent another.
February 2008: We were informed that the standard delay of 2 months was increased to 3 because we were in a conservation area.
April 2008: The plans were turned down. The reason given was that they were not in keeping with the rules regarding “la zone de protection du patrimoine architectural”.
May 2008: Our ‘architect’ requested a meeting with Batiment de France.
June 2008: He told us that he had two conversations with the planners and that he was going to a meeting in Brive. (Batiment de France is based in Tulle!)
August 2008: We were told that new plans had been agreed and were to be submitted.
September 2008: The plans were rejected but, from the letter we received, it seemed that they were still looking at the original plans. We contacted our man in France and he said that it was a “mistake (expletive deleted) on their part and was being resolved as we speak”.
That was the last we heard from him. We e-mailed and phoned but with no luck. In January 2009 I e-mailed the estate agent who had recommended him. She replied that she had heard that his business was not making enough money and that he had emigrated to Australia at the end of 2008 – without telling any of his clients. We had not lost any money by his leaving but we felt totally let down as our planning process was dead in the water. We wrote to the mayor in Segur and the architects in Tulle but received no reply and we were becoming disillusioned with the whole thing. We even considered selling.
It was June 2009. Pip told us about a guy who had written a series of articles about a barn conversion that he had done. He was also offering advice if anyone needed help with their project. It was the last throw of the dice. We e-mailed Steve Davies and he responded very quickly.
Next:- What happened next.