The Centre-Atlantique metropolitan center, which brings together ten intercommunalities of Deux-Sèvres (Niort agglo, Haut Val de Sèvre and Val de Gâtine), Charente-Maritime and Vendée for a population of nearly five hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, is is gathered for the first time in Gâtine since its creation in 2015, at the Alexandra Palace in Mazières-en-Gâtine, Wednesday November 13, 2024. The opportunity for elected officials to express in the preamble their concerns about the future state budget, currently being debated, and the planned cuts in the finances of local authorities.
“We didn’t wait so as not to waste the money”
“The situation is very worrying in all territoriessaid spokesperson Jean-François Fountaine, mayor of La Rochelle and president of the urban community. The loss in self-financing is significant, up to -30% in Niort and La Rochelle. Projects will be altered, our room for maneuver is very limited. » Like his counterparts, he is waiting for the finance bill (PLF) and is already hammering it home: “We didn’t wait so as not to waste public money. The State is going to pass on the debt to the territories, it is unbearably brutal. »
In Mazières-en-Gâtine, elected officials worked on two themes: housing and mobility. Everywhere, the need for accommodation is major, they point out. This is why a dedicated working group has been set up and will focus its attention on three points: defining how companies could finance housing, ensuring that 1% housing is managed at local or even intercommunal level and taking an interest in to youth population movements. On this last point, “the outgoing flow is decreasing but we still have efforts to make, in particular by strengthening our commitment to higher education”underlines Jérôme Baloge, mayor of Niort and president of Niort Agglo.
In stations, attendance on the rise
On the mobility side, a few months after the establishment of an express coach line between Niort and La Rochelle, Jean-François Fountaine ensures that “the uses of the TER are considerable”. He puts forward two figures: La Rochelle station saw its attendance increase from 2 to 2.9 million passengers between 2017 and 2023. “It’s thanks to the TER: we will ask the Region not to reduce frequencies as part of its new call for tenders”extends the chosen one. Same observation in Niort with a jump of 12.2% between 2022 and 2023, with 1,482,134 visitors compared to 1,320,394 a year earlier (+ 7.1% between 2019 and 2022). The stations of Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon, La Crèche and Saint-Maixent-l'École, to name a few, are also showing an increase. On the TGV side, although we should not expect to see more trains on the rails, their capacities should be increased in the direction of La Rochelle with double-deck cars more frequently.
