Urban planning

As a reminder, the Land Use Plan (Plan d' Occupation des Sols, or POS) of the municipality of Gordes was approved on 12 September 1984 and has been the subject of two modifications and three project declarations involving the conformity of the POS. As the latter no longer meets the current spatial planning requirements in certain sectors, it was appropriate for the municipality to revise the POS (ruling of 11 June 2004) and therefore to draw up the Local Urbanism Plan (Plan Local d'Urbanisme, or PLU) in order to redefine the land use and reorganise the municipal area.

The development of the PLU is the expression of the municipality's urban project in all its components with the preservation and enhancement of the heritage, agricultural and natural areas and living environment.

The objectives pursued during the preparation of the Local Urbanism Plan are as follows:

• Reaffirm the agricultural vocation of the land in the plans of the Abbey and Gordes,
• Protect the ecological continuity and elements characterizing the green (the Vaucluse Mountains and the Roques plateau) and blue (the Senancole, the Veroncle and the Imergue rivers) corridors,
• Preserve the large landscapes and significant view cones from the main communication routes,
• Take into account natural risks in the municipality’s urban development (fire and flood risks),
• Support the town's urban planning project over the next 15 years with a population growth outlook of about 1% per year, in line with the decisions of the SCOT Cavaillon/Coustellet/L' Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (joint association),
• Organize the municipality's development, limit the consumption of space by giving priority to urbanization in open spaces within the urban envelope, particularly in the hamlet of Les Imberts, in an urban project approach (innovative forms of urban development in compliance with the hamlet's characteristics, taking into account non-motorized (soft) modes of transport, the share of public amenities and green spaces, etc.).
• Propose a diversified housing offer (individual, individual group, small collective),
• Preserve the natural foundation at the bottom of the village, rue de la Fontaine Basse,
• Upgrade certain public spaces in the village,
• Improve the road network and promote non-motorized (soft) modes of transport,
• Align the networks with the municipal project.

The preliminary analyses were carried out (diagnosis (33Mo) and initial state of the environment).

The development and sustainable development project (4Mo) has been defined.

The principle laid down by the Access to Housing and Renovated Planning Act (ALUR), in compliance with the Land Use Plans (POS) whose revision procedure was initiated before 31 December 2015, but not transformed into a Local Urbanism Plan (PLU) on 26 March 2017, renders our Land Use Plan null and void.

The municipality was thus forced to return to the National Urban Planning Regulations (RNU) which implies in particular the application of the rule of constructibility limited to the urbanized parts of the municipality, but also the Prefect’s approval of applications for building permits or preliminary declarations issued starting from 27 March 2017.

The territory has several public utility easements:

- Classified heritage site: Sénancole Valley

- Listed heritage site: Gordes’s landscape

- Historical monuments:

• Gordes’s Castle
• Sénanque Abbey
• Moulin (mill) des Bouillons
• Village des Bories
• Hôtel Saint-Firmin
• Maison Lhote (facade)
• Saint Pantaléon church

- Forest fire and fire risk prevention plan of the Vaucluse Mountains (West)

- Flood risk prevention plan of Coulon-Calavon

Forms and Administrative Procedures:

Statement of completion of works:
>> Click here

Building permit: 
>> Click here

Preliminary declaration of work:
>> Click here

Notification of start of work:
>> Click here

Planning report:
>> Click here

To perform cadastral research on land within the municipality of Gordes:
>> Click here