Hi all,
we are planning to build an arbri, a barn-type of construction in our field. I have heard that the planning permission rules have changed and that you can now build an outbuilding of less than 40 sq m with no planning permission. Is that correct, does anyone know?
Sholu, It depends what you mean by Planning Permission. For most construction work, you need either a permis de construire or to give prior notice to your Mairie (a déclaration préalable). In practice, the former is more akin to the concept of planning permission, as it's more complex, but the déclaration préalable route can also meet a refusal. There are still a host of rules to be obeyed, e.g. the distance between the new construction and the boundary of the property. According to the official service-public site, the prior notice route can now be used up to 40 sq.m. if you're in the urban area of a commune covered by the normal planning rules (i.e with a PLU, POS, or similar) and the addition doesn't bring your total area to more than 170 sq.m. Otherwise, the déclaration préalable can only be used up to 20 sq.m. (Seemingly, a construction of less than 5 sq.m. doesn't need any notice.)
You'll also need to check out the new 2012 insulation (réglementation thermique) rules, just in case they apply.
All this talk of fields makes me wonder if the bit about needing to be in "the urban area" (zone urbaine) might change things for you or Brian. My suggestion would be an early trip to the Mairie to ask them about your ideas.