French Planning Applications: Riding Schools and Equestrian Centres

There are various structures and works that may be untaken on an equestrian property, and many (but not all) will be subject to planning permission. Let’s look at the main possibilities

Field shelters

This is the point that catches people out most often, and the common belief that field shelters are exempt is wrong. Being open-sided, demountable or moveable makes no difference to whether permission is required. What counts is the footprint, or emprise au sol, and how long the structure stays in place.

A shelter of 5 m² or less needs no formality. Between 5 m² and 20 m² you need a déclaration préalable. Above 20 m² you need a permis de construire. Since most field shelters are built at around 9 m² per horse, almost any shelter for two or more horses will need at least a déclaration préalable, and often a full permit. A structure genuinely in place for under three months a year is exempt, but a shelter left out over winter is not temporary in the eyes of the law.

Shelters erected without consent are among the most frequently reported breaches in rural communes, usually by a neighbour, and the remedy is regularisation or removal. It is worth knowing, incidentally, that article R214-18 of the code rural requires shelter to be provided for equids living permanently at grass, so this is not an obligation you can simply avoid by not building.

Stables

Any stable block requires consent, and the same thresholds apply: a déclaration préalable between 5 m² and 20 m², and a permis de construire above that. For agricultural buildings, an architect becomes compulsory above 800 m², rather than the 150 m² that applies to housing.

Equestrian properties are usually in rural areas, so the land is most likely to be zoned agricultural. In an agricultural zone, consent for any construction not necessary to a farming operation is difficult to obtain, so establish feasibility before you commit to a purchase. It may be that nothing can be built at all. More often there will be limits on size, sometimes as low as 30 m² or so, which severely restricts the number of horses you can stable. Where permission is possible, the planning office may also impose requirements on design, materials and roof profile, so check those in advance too.

One practical point in your favour: buildings used to house animals as part of an agricultural operation are generally exempt from the taxe d’aménagement, which can save a substantial sum on a large building. Confirm the position with the Mairie when you apply, since it depends on how the activity is classified.

Barns

Using an existing barn for horses is much less likely to cause planning difficulty, since a barn is already agricultural in nature and housing animals sits within the same use class. Be careful, though, where the equestrian activity is a commercial leisure business rather than an agricultural one. That can amount to a change of destination, from agricultural to commercial or service use, which requires its own authorisation, and in an agricultural zone will only be possible if the PLU has specifically identified the building as eligible. Structural work or changes to the elevations will require consent in their own right.

Fencing

Stock fencing does not usually require consent. A déclaration préalable is only needed for fencing where the commune has passed a resolution requiring it, or where the land sits in a protected sector, near a listed monument or in a site classé, in which case it always is. Check with the Mairie before you start, and check the PLU for any rules on fence type, height or materials, which are common in rural communes concerned about landscape character.

Arenas and Covered Schools

An outdoor sand arena, or carrière, is not a building, but it is still controlled. Because it involves levelling, excavation and embankment, it is caught by the rules on affouillements et exhaussements du sol. As a general guide, works more than two metres deep or high and covering more than 100 m² require consent, and given that a standard arena is 20 m by 40 m you will almost always be over the area threshold. Drainage, lighting and any surrounding fencing may need to be covered by the same application.

A covered school, or manège, is a building, and given the dimensions involved it will invariably require a permis de construire. In an agricultural zone it will only be authorised if it is necessary to the holding, and expect close scrutiny of the height, roof profile, materials and landscape impact. If the manège will be used for lessons or competitions attended by the public, it also becomes a building open to the public, with the consequences set out below.

Professional Use Buildings

Once members of the public come onto the property, for lessons, livery, competitions or trekking, your buildings become an établissement recevant du public, or ERP, and a second layer of regulation applies alongside the planning rules. Outdoor riding areas are generally classed as open-air premises, while a covered school falls under the rules for indoor sports facilities. Ancillary buildings such as a clubhouse, changing rooms, WCs or a café are each assessed in their own right.

In practice that means two things. First, your application must include a fire safety statement and an accessibility statement, either as part of the permis de construire or as a standalone autorisation de travaux where no permit is needed. Second, and frequently overlooked, permission to build is not permission to open. You will need an autorisation d’ouverture from the mayor before you can receive the public, and you must keep a safety register and an accessibility register thereafter.

Accessibility is the part that most often derails equestrian projects, because parking, approach routes, reception areas and WCs must all be usable by disabled visitors. Where full compliance is genuinely impossible, a dérogation can be sought, but it must be applied for and justified rather than assumed.

Two further obligations sit outside the planning system and are worth building into your plans early. Keeping horses is governed by the règlement sanitaire départemental, which sets minimum distances between stabling or muck heaps and neighbouring dwellings and water sources. The distances vary by department, so check your local text. And if your activity is agricultural, you will be affiliated to the MSA rather than to the general social security scheme, with its own registration requirements and minimum holding size.

Professional fees for obtaining the relevant consents on a project of this kind commonly ran to between €3,000 and €4,000 as at 2021, and you should expect that figure to be higher now. Budget for it at the outset, alongside the cost of any accessibility works.