Sancerre seems to be trying for recognition as a world heritage site. Has anyone any experience with what it’s like to live in a house within such an area, where UNESCO has come in and given approval for the area to be registered as such?
I am currently helping friends in Charente who are restricted due to being within a few yards of a Historic site…
So I would imagine that property owners (where UNESCO is involved) will have even more restrictions on what they can and cannot do…
On the other hand… I would imagine that there will be excellent safeguards in place to ensure that the Site remains as wonderful/glorious as it must already be to warrant such a Nomination…
Be interesting to hear how this works out…
(Google might give some details… but remember that Wikipedia is only as good as the info folk put into it.)
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Hope our wee Hamlet never achieves it, ( I doubt it), was bad enough with ‘The Friends of The Lake District’, to get anything at all done 
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Hi Mary… I was in the Charente today… visiting a Mairie on behalf of a friend. It took just a few minutes to hand over the Dossier and get it checked… phew… and then we had a chat about Batiment de France (in general) … and Sancerre/UNESCO in particular.
The lady’s reply was more or less as I have outlined. UNESCO status (or whatever you call it) will bring in strict regulations… stricter than just B de France… (you should have seen her facial expressions as she said this… ). There are good and bad in all this.(again more facial expressions)… funds may/will//should be forthcoming to preserve/rebuild the Heritage. The beauty will be preserved, she said, finally smiling… and this is good… no… ??
Well, if I’ve learnt one thing from this morning’s session… it is to take a video camera with me next time… 
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I wouldn’t get too exercised about it yet. From what I can see, this idea has yet to even make it onto france’s tentative list yet, and it can take many years from that stage. There are only about 20 sites granted a year across the world, and since France has proportionally quite a lot already it becomes harder to argue the case.
There is also a lot of debate about the interaction of WHSs with tourism and how that would be managed to make sure the increased prominence of place X and what makes it special isn’t immediately destroyed by the tourism boost. As WHS status doesn’t bring extra funds with it.
And the conditions are only as strict as those who supervise it, you only have to look at the list of WHSs in danger to see the lack of concern shown.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/state=fr
Maybe also look at the existing WHS of burgundy vineyards/centre of Dijon, I imagine many people living there have little idea that they are in one?
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