48 municipalities, municipality or urban area communities and départements were represented at these first two information and exchange meetings on the management plan. Organised by the Mission Val de Loire in Chinon (Indre-et-Loire) and Blois (Loir-et-Cher), they brought together 124 participants from local authorities and State departments. Two more meetings have been arranged in March at Les Ponts-de-Cé (49) and Châteauneuf-sur-Loire (45). The first deliberations calling on local authorities to protect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and incorporate the management plan in their planning documents have been held.
Find out about and acknowledge the Outstanding Universal Value of our heritage
At each meeting, Georgette Tacquard (DAT Conseils) presented the first findings of the ongoing study commissioned by the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Development and Housing (DREAL) to explain what Outstanding Universal Value means (OUV).
The 7 main types of heritage shaping the landscapes of the Loire Valley are intricately linked:
- The châteaux and fortifications, which played key roles in the defence, conquest and management strategies of regions.
- The Christian heritage – attesting to the early alliance between the Church and the monarchy.
- The heritage linked to river navigation and associated thoroughfares on land.
- The flood adaptation systems (2000 years of progress).
- The vernacular and troglodytic built heritage.
- The farming landscapes inherited from the times of the monarchy and the great Abbeys.
- The Loire and its hillsides, in interaction with people, is a highly cultural landscape.
All these types of heritage find specific local expression, as illustrated through the comparative perspectives of the historian, architect, environmentalist and landscape gardener on the sites of Chinon and Blois.
Management plan: a tool at the service of local public action
After its approval by the French State and Centre and Pays de la Loire regions, the World Heritage Loire Valley Territorial Conference of 29 November gave the go-ahead for the management plan. The 164 municipalities, 22 municipality communities, 5 urban area municipalities and 4 départements within the site boundaries are asked to undertake it.
The discussions over the first few days highlighted the already high investment that the site's communities have made through best practice case studies (see presentations, link above).
"The management plan is a document laying down recommendations and best practices for preserving the rich heritage and landscapes of the Loire Valley, whilst enabling human, economic, farming and industrial activities to develop in a way that does not encroach on what shapes the identity of the Loire Valley as recognised by Unesco."- Jean-Pierre Tressard, sub-prefect of Chinon, Loire Valley policy officer.
Given the challenges taken up, dialogue, consultation and pooling resources seem essential for paving the way towards a heritage-friendly development. By laying down joint and general guidelines for the listed site, the management plan represents a guide for implementing projects.
The first ten local authorities have voted in favour of protecting the OUV and management plan:
- Loiret: Dry
- Loir-et-Cher: Muides-sur-Loire
- Indre-et-Loire: Candes-Saint-Martin, La Riche, Rigny-Ussé, Seuilly, Villandry
- Maine-et-Loire: La Bohalle, Rochefort-sur-Loire, Loire Aubance municipality community
Many others are already announced.
Online:
Forthcoming meetings
Programmes and registration
- 7 March 2012, at Les Ponts-de-Cé (Maine-et-Loire)
- 13 March 2012, at Châteauneuf-sur-Loire (45)
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