Haute-Garonne: they receive aid of €20,000 to restore their property
The owners of the “Colombia de La Garosse” dovecote in Castéra and the medieval house and pastel factory in Villemur-sur-Tarn will each receive €20,000 to support the restoration of their property. And this thanks to the Heritage Foundation and Airbnb.
It’s Christmas before time! For the second consecutive year, thanks to the partnership between the Heritage Foundation and Airbnb, 25 restoration projects will receive additional financial support, as part of the “Heritage and Local Tourism” program. Two of them describe themselves in Haute-Garonne. These are the dovecote “Colombia de la Garosse”, located in Castéra and the medieval house and pastel factory, based in Sayrac, near Villemur-sur-Tarn.
This aid of €20,000 comes at the right time for project leaders committed to safeguarding heritage. “This is great news, it will help us a lot to continue our last phase of work”, recognizes Emmanuelle Panteix, owner since April 2021, of the Lespinasse family home in Saune, in Sayrac. The Lespinasses being Toulouse bourgeois who were probably enriched by the pastel trade. When Emmanuelle Panteix acquired this house, “the former owner had renovated the entire interior. We had to restore the facades, re-do the roof and a porch. Most of this work is done today, ”she says. “As this house had a historic character, we contacted the heritage foundation. Together, we built our case, that’s how we were labeled. This helps us a lot in the very expensive restoration of this very pretty house,” continues the owner. 20 meters long, this residence with parquet floor and marble fireplace is not lacking in character. Which is good since Emmanuelle Panteix has always wanted to “live in an old house with a story”. The icing on the cake, the latter houses a commemorative plaque in honor of Gabriel Lespinasse de Saune, “who brought the Statue of Liberty to New York”.
“Tedious procedures”
At Castérat, Nathalie Déjean is also delighted with the arrival of this envelope of €20,000. Owner of the dovecote “Colombia de La Garosse” for more than 2 years, she wants to start work as soon as possible to shelter it. “Half of its roof collapsed in the last storm. There is an urgent need to restore it, ”she explains. This very beautiful building, which has 280 nesting boxes, is in front of his house, “it would be a shame if it disappeared”. But the search for grants is fraught with pitfalls. “The procedures are tedious, we are asked the same things 50 times. Fortunately, we have the help of the heritage foundation to move forward with all this paperwork,” recognizes Nathalie. Since last year, his building has been part of the Sava dovecote circuit. She hopes that this new visibility will help her find funds.