We get a lot of enquiries about small parcels of land that we have on our books.  Typically a client will want to buy a piece of French countryside with a view to living the simple life in a mobile home or caravan.  Some clients want to build a more substantial chalet or log cabin.  Whether you want to retire to your piece of France or just use it as a seasonal retreat there are a few points to consider.

Firstly mobile homes or caravans are not allowed on any piece of land (except registered campsites) unless they are there for less than 3 months of the year - it is OK to park your caravan between excursions elsewhere but not to use it as a permanent dwelling.  You might find a piece of land with outline planning permission and access to services on site but you will not get permission to use a mobile home or a caravan as a dwelling on that site except for the limited case that you use it for temporary accommodation while you build your dream home.

Wooden chalets are allowed but they are subject to the same planning restrictions as more robust constructions.  You can build a shed for tool-storage etc, less than 20 square metres in area, without restriction but anything bigger needs full planning permission.  Don't be put off - the process is not too difficult if you respect the following points:-

The chalet should fit in with its surroundings - it should not look like an Alpine chalet!  Look at any photos of traditional fermettes on our site and you will see that the ridgeline is parallel to the facade of the building and this should be mirrored in your chalet design.  The roof itself should be constructed in traditional materials, either tile or slate with a minimum pitch of 36° and small overhangs at the gables and eaves.  The walls should be either wood panels or planks with a rectangular cross-section (not lapped) with the supporting structure hidden by the cladding.  Forget notched ends or log cabins, the raw ends of the cladding should be masked by rectangular beading.  The major openings, whether windows or doors, should be concentrated in the facade and the windows should have a portrait aspect, not panoramic.  All edges exposed to damp, rainsplash etc. should be suitably protected and the cladding should be painted, lacquered or varnished to fit the surroundings.  The overall aim is to produce a building which is long-lasting and which merges into its surroundings in the same way that an existing traditional building already does.

You will find the planning authorities sympathetic to your ideas if you are sympathetic to local feeling and, surely, this is what we all want!