[derekf]

I bought and moved to the Pas de Calais six years ago. Now they have surrounded my house with wind generators. I know that they are necessary for the envoironment and have never been anti but, they are very close and I can hear them!

I have talked to the local 'english' estate agent who informs me that they have dropped the price of my house allarmingly.

What are my options? I know it is too late to change the general picture but, on purchase of the house, they were never mentioned whereas I was warned about the noise and possible smells from the local farms.

 

[Guest]

Welcome to ExpatForum Derek. That's bad news, I can't imagine what you can do, short of getting legal advice to see if the plans already existed when you made your purchase, and if so, finding out whether you should have been informed about them by the notaire who did all the relevant searches at the time. Six years isn't long, the wind farm may already have been planned.

If the noise is bad perhaps you could contact the Mairie to find out if you are entitled to any compensation, although you would be lucky to obtain anything more than a reduction in your impôts locaux ...

Best of luck, it would be interesting to hear what transpires...

 

[Guest]

I doubt that you will even get a reduction in taxes - and even applying for it will confirm the opinion that any local may have formed about the way you've 'been had'.

Firstly, the Mairie MUST have known about the proposed windfarm - it'll have been in the PLU for months if not years.

Secondly, no-one, from the vendor of the house to the Notaire, was obliged to tell you anything except in response to specific questions you will have asked as part of the compromis. IMHO, the most you could have expected is an indication that it was planned had you asked something like 'Is there any development of any building structure or enterprise planned to take place within 5 kilometres of the house within the next five years?' - and I'd bet that a clever and slippery Notaire would have found a way out of even that one.

As for the smell from the farms - I have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who arrives in a rural location (presumably seeking the 'peace and tranquillity' of the countryside??) without having some idea of what farms do, and make.

It reminds me of the brits who arrived en masse in the villages in Wales and demanded that the locals speak english.

Oh and windfarms are not 'necessary for the environment' - their overall cost to the planet from construction to decommission is probably far greater than the energy value they create.

 

[coloma gold]

I bought and moved to the Pas de Calais six years ago. Now they have surrounded my house with wind generators. I know that they are necessary for the envoironment and have never been anti but, they are very close and I can hear them!

I have talked to the local 'english' estate agent who informs me that they have dropped the price of my house allarmingly.

What are my options? I know it is too late to change the general picture but, on purchase of the house, they were never mentioned whereas I was warned about the noise and possible smells from the local farms.

As Bev said, you need to discuss with counsel, and soon!! I am unfamiliar with French Law but have handled cases (as an insurance litigation consultant) similar to this in California. There are several issues that need to be investigated and I believe only an attorney has the knowledge to assist you. Such things as statute of limitations, nuisance & immunities for governmental agencies, misrepresentation or professional negligence of the real estate person, professional negligence of a title company (I don't know if you had title insurance or a title company involved), duty to advise by the prior owner, etc., will possibly be involved. You have an uphill battle and hiring an atty may be money well spent in this particular case.

 

[Bevdeforges]

As Bev said, you need to discuss with counsel, and soon!! I am unfamiliar with French Law but have handled cases (as an insurance litigation consultant) similar to this in California. There are several issues that need to be investigated and I believe only an attorney has the knowledge to assist you. Such things as statute of limitations, nuisance & immunities for governmental agencies, misrepresentation or professional negligence of the real estate person, professional negligence of a title company (I don't know if you had title insurance or a title company involved), duty to advise by the prior owner, etc., will possibly be involved. You have an uphill battle and hiring an atty may be money well spent in this particular case.

Bev didn't say anything - that was Frogblogger. But I think consulting legal council is about all that can be done. France doesn't really have the sort of nuisance statutes that you may be used to in the US, and "title insurance" is the notaire's job.

If your neighbors are similarly annoyed by the sound of the turbines, you can always get together an association and work through the mairie for some sort of accommodation. But based on the ongoing travails of our local "anti-nuisance" association, formed to complain about the landing patterns at nearby Orly airport, you probably won't get too far.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[coloma gold]

Bev didn't say anything - that was Frogblogger. But I think consulting legal council is about all that can be done. France doesn't really have the sort of nuisance statutes that you may be used to in the US, and "title insurance" is the notaire's job.

If your neighbors are similarly annoyed by the sound of the turbines, you can always get together an association and work through the mairie for some sort of accommodation. But based on the ongoing travails of our local "anti-nuisance" association, formed to complain about the landing patterns at nearby Orly airport, you probably won't get too far.
Cheers,
Bev

Sorry Bev... Didn't mean to put words attributable to you...