Southern Times

Fractional Ownership in the Languedoc

Rob — 2008-02-27T08:43:54Z

Imagine having a holiday home in the Languedoc which is always ready to welcome you. new sheets on beds, no maintenance, no diy, just relax time all at a fraction of the normal languedoc real estate prices.

we've seen them in the States, all around the Caribbean and on offer in Spain from the ex timeshare barons.

Now at last there are two fractional ownership developments coming to fruition in the Languedoc.

i believe fractional ownership is the future of the second home market in france and I am glad to see two different developments emerging.
One fractional development is topend, with a gourmet restaurant, pool and golf course all in the Herault countryside.

The other is a seaview coastal fractional development offering one bed apartments and studios all with sea view terraces down along the coast towards Spain one hop after Colioure the fauvist's fave (hmm, had to get that in! ) destination. Here the sea is part of france's natural heritage classified and protected as such. this is Cerbere which is a divers paradise so all those born with a snorkel on their mouths should watch French Property Fractional, the new French fractional property ownership site for more details as they emerge.

A Fine and Private place

The Frogman — 2008-02-17T05:46:10Z

February in the Herault is a mixed season with cold jacket and jumper days interspersed with bright sun teeshirt and shorts surprises - almost an English spring.

The cicadas have not begun to chant, the swallows are neither arriving nor leaving in their swooping swishing clouds. Work in the vines is restricted to pruning. The world is quiet.

Smoke from wood burning fires still curls up from the village rooves, a time for walks, a time for talks and meetings in quiet spaces.

We have elections coming up for the mayors and councils of our villages, first round on the 9th of March, political feathers are being straightened and made brilliant ready for the louder brighter courting displays of early March.

EEC (common market) citizens who are residents in France can vote in these elections. Over the last 20 years In the Herault there has been a very large influx of British citizens. Most of these buying houses in the small villages.

Hence, in the villages of less than 1000 heads, the English vote is beginning to be recognised as valuable.

Last night, all the English residents of our village were invited to a meeting arranged by an ex and would be mayor to 'meet one another' and discuss the evolution of the village.

Like all small communities, issues are local, which side of the village - North or South - a new development should be built, speed of cars coming through the village, dogs and dogshit in the village streets.Nobody is banning imports from Montpellier or declaring war on Perpignan.

This is, however, a Mediterranean region, where bulls still run through the streets and emotions , old loyalties, feuds run faster and higher and deeper than the bulls.

Thus it was in the half light of the early evening we headed round towards our salle de fetes to be met and guided by one of the would be councillors into a dimly lit garage far away from the prying eyes of mortals.We were told that the meeting was being held there because if it took place in the light of a public place it would be disrupted and the would be councillors would be howled down by 'wolves'.

After all issues had been discussed, all issues being why the new development should not be built where the present mayor plans to buid it and that it should be moved from the North side of the village to the south side, pertinent questions were asked.

Who are the would be councillors on the Mayor's electoral council list? This was tricky, the would be mayor explained it had to remain secret, because otherwise his supporters and would be councillors would be reviled in the streets, probably have their gabardines spat upon and certainly be prey to the "wolves".

It was then proposed that if we had any friends that might or should be interested and knew of a fine and private place like a well hidden garage, meetings could be held to further the cause - viral garage marketing strategy.

February is a curious month.

A WINDMILL PROTEST

Peter Shield — 2004-06-28T00:00:00Z

On Sunday 9 May 200 people, led by PATRICIA CHABAUD, the mayor of Portel les Corbieres, held a protest picnic to block the entrance to the Abbey of Fontfroide in the Corbieres.

What, you may well ask, had the Abbey's owner, Nicolas d'Andoque, done to deserve the angry attention of the people of Portel des Corbieres and of Maryse Arditi, the Green Languedoc Regional Council Vice-President, Senator Roland Couteau, and the socialist Deputy,
Jacques Bascou?

Had he sold the Abbey of Fontfroide to mad monks? Was he planning a nuclear power station in the Cloisters? Was he suspected of being a vampire?

No, none of the above: he is suspected of secretly pulling strings to get the Prefect of the Aude Department to veto the plan to put 10 wind generators on the hills of Couloubret, which separate Fontfroide from Portel des Corbieres.

Certainly Nicolas d'Andoque, alongside the Mayor of Narbonne, had voiced his strong opposition to the project, which has the backing not just of Portel des Corbieres but the majority of the communes of the "Corbieres en Mediterranee" region.

Whether this opposition was the determining factor that led the Prefect of the Aude to say no to the plan is unknown. In the eyes of Patricia Chabaud and of the protesters from Portel and the other "Corbieres en Mediterranee" communes, the Prefect has abused his powers and has placed private interests above the wider community.

Under the slogan "Le vent est notre richesse. Laissez-nous vivre avec, the picnic protest is seen as the opening salvo in a series of protests aimed at overturning the Aude Prefect's decision.

Claiming that the decision threatens the opening of a Danish owned wind generator factory in Port la Nouvelle and the development work of Portel des Corbieres, it promises to be a hot summer at Fontfroide.

Jean-Marc Boudet is the regional director of SIIF Energies du Midi, the company behind the wind farm development. Joining the picnic with his family, he said "This is the first time that I know of when there has been a demonstration in favour of a wind farm!"
>
The of conservation versus sustainable development, decentralised decision-making versus the central State, and private lobbying versus public protest all came together on the Couloubret hills. What is clear is that the process behind the Aude Prefect's decision is not as transparent as it should be.

A survey done by the Huissier du Justice, who went up in a helicopter and took photos from the maximum height of the blades, clearly showed that the wind farm would be invisible from the Abbey of Fontfroide. This result was disregarded. The targeting of Nicolas d'Andoque as "enemy number one" by the Mayor of Portel des Corbieres is unjustifiably aggressive, and the threatened boycott of the European Elections, which will marginally affect the Prefect of the Aude as the returning officer, is so obviously self-defeating as to be absurd. The protesters need as much political support as they can get.

We need to know why the Aude Prefect made the decision he did; what were the determining factors that led to his veto; does it represent a policy change or was it a one-off veto, and what does this mean for the future of sustainable energy in the Corbieres?

Once we know the answers to these questions, the people of Portel and the Corbieres can decide what policy they want to see and set about making it happen.

by Peter Shield of Midi-Life.com.

GABIAN

Patricia — 2003-10-04T11:20:57Z

Foire du Terroir. Sample and buy local produce and local wines. Enjoy a meal at the cafe l'Escale.