Grants for Gite?

[Jeffrey McCoyJeff]

Hi Everyone . . .

I'm new to this forum, however I have owned a house which is just outside the town of Villedieu les Poeles, for some time now and envisage retiring to this area in about a year or so.

There are a number of barns on my property one of which would make an ideal gite and a French friend of mine said that there are Grants available to assist with the conversion process.

Does anyone have any information regarding where and how to obtain such grants if indeed they are available and if worth pursuing?.

Thanks . . .

[Will]

You have two possible sources of help - gites de france, and local tourist bodies. In many cases the two work together, I think this is the case in Manche.

You need to be aware that you will probably be committed to work through gites de france (or an equivalent body) for a number of years - in the case of gdf that's not necessarily a bad thing, though some people claim that they find the conditions too restrictive.

Also be aware of the fact that just about all of the popular tourist areas are over-supplied with gite accommodation, and still more people, probably fired by the TV programmes, are wanting to open more. This means that the areas where money is available are mainly those without a strong tourist interest. That doesn't mean you won't be able to open a gite, just that you will probably have to work harder on your marketing.

Do look at all the various comments on this site about the level of income you can expect from gites, often based on actual experience. Think of the conversion cost (with and without grant aid, and remember that cost and time of such projects always increase) and compare what you would get by investing this with the return you would get from gites, not forgetting that a gite conversion may or may not increase the value of your property (a lot of gites are coming up for sale so the market is over-suplied).

If you still want to pursue this further, talk to your mairie about local opportunities. I think in Manche you may strike lucky, on the other hand if your maire is unenthusiastic you are unlikely to succeed. Gites de France information can be found here: http://www.gites-de-france.fr/fr/special/pages/label/pagelabel.htm

[Jeffrey McCoyJeff]

[quote]You have two possible sources of help - gites de france, and local tourist bodies. In many cases the two work together, I think this is the case in Manche. You need to be aware that you will probabl...[/quote]

Hi Will . . .

Just picked up your reply, "Many Thanks" for being so quick with your response as well ! I found your advice helpful and will bear your points in mind when I make some initial enquiries with the maire and Gites de France at the start of this coming year . . . I will keep the Forum posted of my foray into this minefield.

Regards

[Coco]

Hi Jeffrey

Does Villedieu come under Vallee de la Vire region of Manche?  I think it just about does.  In which case I can save you the time.  Our local tourist office are very keen for us to increase the number of rooms in our B&B and have told me there are grants of about 25-33% available for this purpose.  However, she emphasised the fact that these are (as far as she is aware, and she is quite switched on) only available in the vallee de la Vire area - for example, areas closer to the coast are not eligible.  And only B&Bs are eligible as she says that the area is already flooded with gites.  The work also has to be carried out by registered artisans - you can't do the work yourself and claim for materials etc.

Hope this helps.