The Angers Loire Métropole PLUi

A Loire Valley - World Heritage planning and programming guideline (OAP)

Angers Loire Métropole has defined a World Heritage strategy in its intermunicipal local urban development plan (PLUi) by creating a planning and programming guideline specifically for Unesco site municipalities. This captures the intermunicipal heritage considerations and defines the framework guidelines guaranteeing enhancement of the Loire Valley World Heritage.

Background

Heritage and landscape considerations form part of the priorities of the Angers Loire Métropole PLUi. The Loire Valley World Heritage is covered by a specific planning and programming guideline (OAP) for the city's seven Unesco municipalities. 

Aims

The aim is to take the OUV on board with a view to strengthening the link between the city and its river. Qualification of the OUV at the different scales guides the definition of the Loire Valley OAP by aligning the overall territorial approach with an operational approach at project level. The OAP's World Heritage strategy is organised around three principles: 

• Guideline no.1: reveal the main landscape balances;
• Guideline no.2: qualify the urban spaces;
• Guideline no.3: qualify the site's entrances and lines of view.

Delivery

The OAP's three guidelines are each developed in the form of summary maps and a factsheet outlining the intentions of the guideline, including recommendations and examples of application from the PLUi zoning plan.  

Regarding high-stakes sectors, consideration of OUV is clarified in the context of a development OAP. The regulations in this respect align with the general zoning plan and the height plan. They also specify the provisions for analysing heritage aspects of future projects. 

Outcome and outlook

An OAP provides an operational framework for a territorial coherence strategy commensurate with the Unesco landscape considerations, with alignment between: 

• the OAP Loire Valley recommendations and OAP development requirements;
• The OAP Loire Valley recommendations and requirements of the intermunicipal document bearing on the area for enhancing architecture and heritage (AVAP), defined for three municipalities concerned by the listed site of the Maine-Loire Confluence.

To give an example, the intentions of Framework Guideline no. 2, "Shore up symbolic spaces and build new projects", are particularly spelled out in the summary of built, architectural and landscape heritage including siting by type of new project. This summary map aligns with the OAP development – associated with Murs-Érigné in this instance.  

Contact

Capucine Réhault 

Deputy Director, Spatial Planning Department - Angers Loire métropole 

capucine.rehault[@]angersloiremetropole.fr 

Valérie Galpin 

Urban Architect, Spatial Planning Department - Angers Loire métropole  

valerie.galpin[@]angersloiremetropole.fr