It is a sea serpent, a file which has been bogged down for eight years, over the course of municipalities and legal appeals. In the Vaîtes district, located not far from the city center of Besançon, things should finally change.
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A press conference this Tuesday, November 5. Besançon announces that it is actively relaunching the new Vaîtes district project. A green space located along the tram line which was to accommodate a project of 1,150 housing units in 2016. Over the years (see timeline below), things have evolved. When she arrived at the head of the municipality in 2020, Anne Vignot and her team reworked the project to reduce its scale. Results: 600 housing units. The first deliveries planned for 2028 and a new Tristan Bernard school for the residents of this district.
“One of the arguments (of the opponents, editor's note) is to say that there was no tension in terms of housing in Besançon, whereas we know today, it is extremely tense and serious . We urgently need to produce housing, in renovation and construction. And we need to provide housing for everyone” summarizes Anne Vignot, EELV mayor of Besançon at the microphone of our journalist Laurent Ducrozet.
The project for the future Vaîtes district in Besançon.
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© City of Besançon
600 housing units will be built between 2028 and 2038 in an area of 23 hectares which will give way to natural spaces and market gardening areas under professional status. The municipality and Territoire 25 want quality housing that meets the challenges of the 21st century in terms of accessibility, comfort and well-being. The specifications will be entrusted to the developers: bioclimatic design, renewable energies, bio-sourced materials, rainwater recovery, waste recycling, etc. are some of the criteria for the future district.
Housing for single people, others for families often forced to leave the city, the new district will have 30% of housing will be social rental housing, 15% will be affordable home ownership, 55% free access. If the schedule is respected, the new Tristan Bernard school should open in the fall of 2028.
In the coming months, the developers will make proposals, co-construction times with residents are planned from January 2025, as is already happening on the new district project in La Grette.
A “kick-off meeting”, the first highlight of the democratic dynamic, is planned for December 10. It will be devoted in particular to the definition of the main objects of reflection and exchange, the practical modalities of the dialogue and its principle timetable.
What will become of the last market gardeners?
The new project will make room for professional market gardeners. The “gardeners” who are still present on part of the site are required to leave the premises and respect town planning rules. “These are people who want a sharing society. There are good reasons why they accept the new direction of this neighborhood” hopes Anne Vignot.
It's not a win. On the side of the Jardin des Vaîtes association which has been fighting for years against this real estate project, anger remains unabated in the face of this project which will finally come to fruition. “I don't think that people voted for an eco-friendly town hall to have again concreted garden areas, woods, ponds… We saw the floods in Valencia. We are at a moment in history of humanity There are orientation choices to be made, and we still have these old projects lying around and which continue to be pursued. Frankly, we are disgusted.” reacts Claire Arnoux, president of the association who has opposed the project for years.
The main dates of Vaîtes
2016
The Vaîtes project was officially launched in 2016 by the former mayor of Besançon Jean-Louis Fousseret and his majority. 1,150 housing units are planned
2019
The first preparation work began in January 2019, but at the end of February 2019, following an unfavorable opinion from the National Nature Protection Council (CNPN), the Doubs prefecture ordered the temporary cessation of the site.
2020
In the summer of 2020, activists from Extinction Rebellion and Action-Non-Violente Cop21 occupied the Vaîtes site.
That same summer, the Council of State ruled in favor of the associations Les Jardins des Vaîtes, and France nature environment 25-90 on the suspension of work at Les Vaîtes. The largest administrative body recognizes, however, “the major public interest in creating an eco-district”.
2021
February 21, 2021, The Besançon Administrative Court annuls the order of the Doubs Prefecture which allowed the construction of the Vaîtes eco-district. “Les Jardins des Vaîtes” and “France Nature Environnement 25-90”, requested the cancellation of the decree of March 18, 2019, which authorized construction work in the Vaîtes area despite the presence of protected species.
In September 2021Anne Vignot, the EELV mayor of Besançon presents a revisited project, less important than that initiated by the previous majority. This project provides between 500 to 600 housing units, half as many as planned. It also provides more green spaces, a reduced impact on the environment.
2024
