Le-Petit-Logis 79130 Neuvy Bouin Le Gatine Deux Sevres France

We bought the property in September 2008, the plot is 1615 m² and with this came an agricultural barn included in the price. The small stone building with mains water connected has now been converted into a summer kitchen and a bathroom added for friends and family visiting and convenience for us when staying in our caravan until we build a small house. The foundations were completed in September 2010 and the walls and roof followed in December and January.

Having the benefit of mains electricity and mains drainage in the village made things more convenient for us.These mains services only had to be brought across the road into the stone building. Without help from our friends Cathy & Clive and Edith in the Mairie we would have struggled as we speak very little French  - for this we owe them a million thanks. Our friends Donna & Roy who tame & keep our grass & weeds under control & keep an eye on the place - what would we do without you ? we even have our own neighbourhood watch - the immediate neighbours are very protective of Le Petit Logis , they don't miss ANYTHING!!

We thought long and hard about a suitable name for the property, it was Dave's suggestion to call it 'Le Petit Logis' as we could only afford to build a small home so the translation works well.

Planning permission (Declaration Préalable)for the bathroom and renovation of the stone building to a summer kitchen proved to be a nightmare for our friends Cathy & Clive who were acting on our behalf. The first application was rejected as there was not enough detail in the first plans as the property had only ever been a garden (potager). Cathy visited the planning office at Parthenay and after she explained what we wanted to do and asked them what they needed, Clive came into his own and re-did the plans - success!!! it was passed in 2 weeks.

The plans for the proposed house were professionally drawn but they were not architectural drawings as we were under 170 m² in size. As the commune now understand what we are trying to do these plans were passed in 3 weeks (Permis de Construire).   We also did a 'declaration prealable' to change the facade of the barn to make it more pleasing to the eye, we had 2 new windows and a door added, we completed the application on our own with a little help from a couple of French friends for the translation and were very pleased with ourselves as they were passed in 10 days, we are now getting to grips with the French system!!!.

Once the property was officially ours 9.9.2008 the first job was to cut down all the overgrowth, the laurel bush which stopped the gate opening and the low branches of the cherry trees so that we could get the caravan positioned in front of the barn - there was no driveway then! only 15 years of grass, weeds and unruly rose bushes and fruit trees - not to mention the brambles. As you scroll through the photos this gives you a bit of the history of what has been done so far. This will be an on-going project for at least another 3 years until the building is completed and the garden landscaped - thats if a job like this can ever be finished!!! We love our little place in France, the neighbours & the Maires office in our small village couldn't have been more helpful or welcoming. There is a brand new bar/restaurant and a lovely park and granite boulders that appear dotted around our area in the Deux Sevres countryside with acres of apple orchards close by.

The village of Neuvy Bouin has 486 inhabitants at the last census count in January 2010 and 21 people who are classed as 'secondaire' home owners. There are a few inexpensive properties for sale in the village as well as plots for new builds (lotissements) close to the restaurant and the park and other farm type or larger houses in the countryside & even barns for renovation. One of the reasons why we chose this area is that it is one of the cheaper areas to buy,and the people are brilliant we are ideally located in easy reach of the theme parks, not too far from the Vendee beaches and the Loire valley and it is in easy reach of Poitiers, Nantes and La Rochelle airports. The rolling hillsides and windy lanes & hedgerows are home from home for us as the landscape is similar to Staffordshire. The village is always welcoming with colourful flowerbeds that are planted & tended around the village by Bruno (the handyman) but like all French villages some of the old buildings look like they could do with a coat of paint but this is obviously part of the French charm.

As the site continues to be built there will be more add-on links to gites, places of interest, travel etc.

Plans for the future
2011 the house should be totally finished and the garden landscaped, in 2012 hopefully chambre d'hote (bed & Breakfast) and caravan & camping for 3-4 units (pending permission from the Mairie).