End of season with a bitter taste the Bellebouche site in Mézières-en-Brenne, in Indre. Like every winter, the holiday village and the leisure center close their doors from All Saints' Day to Easter. But this year, the Cap sur la Brenne association, which manages the site, announced that it was giving up. “We are placed in compulsory liquidation with a debt of 500,000 euros. We are ceasing our activity this November 18” explains François Mignet, the president of the association, one year before the official end of the public service delegation signed for three years with the town hall of Mézières-en-Brenne.
The reason, according to the manager, is the too high share of rents: 24,000 euros for the holiday village to which are added that of the leisure center and its tree-climbing activity. “The leisure center alone costs us a third of the expenses. You need trained staff, it’s very cumbersome. Not to mention the water activities. The town hall did not lower the rent even though for two years there was no possibility of swimming in Bellebouche“. Indeed, in 2022, the proliferation of cyanobacteria had prevented taking advantage of the pond and in 2023, Bellebouche had experienced its traditional Asec episode.
But the mayor of Mézières-en-Brenne, Jean Louis Camus, denies any responsibility for the failure of this collaboration. “In the past, we had already put in place a schedule to facilitate the payment of a debt, which has still not been settled. They knew when they signed the documents the rent amounts. They signed knowingly“.
The site employed seven people who will therefore be made redundant. The town hall is looking for a buyer for a reopening if possible in the spring.
