Castelnau-le-Lez, north of Montpellier, has been the scene of a virulent political joust in recent months. On one side, the mayor, keen to modernise his town centre, and on the other, the opposition, which was outraged by the concreting of Castelnau. An investigation finally proved the opponents right.
In general, it’s a matter of compromise. This time, the mayor’s entire project was rejected, a rare enough fact to be underlined.
For his second term, the mayor of Castelnau-le-Lez, Frederic Lafforgue, planned a transformation of his town, in particular to accompany the arrival of the bus-tram. Road widening, construction of housing and social housing, nine-story towers were all on the agenda. To do this, the mayor had to, as always in matters of town planning, modify the Local Town Plan (PLU). All the projects were focused around Avenue de l’Europe, a key artery of the town which will see the arrival of the bus-tram next September.
But for several months, the mayor had to deal with part of his municipal council, opposed to the “concretion of the municipality”, as well as opposition from some of the residents. The latter had expressed last May their desire to speak with the mayor, because the project was too far removed from the needs and daily lives of the Castelnauviens according to them.
“Avenue de l’Europe is facing water resource problems due to a water table that is too close, and problems of noise and environmental pollution. And since the start of the project, the mayor has ignored all these considerations”, deplores Richard Corvaisier, opposition municipal councilor.
But the affair experienced a twist on June 17, when an investigating commissioner challenged four “key” points of the Local Urban Plan. The reasons given? Poor consideration of environmental issues and projects that are at odds with the needs of residents.
“It’s three years of work destroyed. I have the impression that we took the Castelnauvians hostage. I don’t want to get into the controversy, but today we are disillusioned”the mayor said, speaking to France 3 Occitanie.
Opposite, Richard Corvaiser declares victory. “The investigating commissioner has set the record straight! The mayor of Castelnau had promised to involve the residents, he did not do so despite repeated requests. Mr. Lafforgue must pull himself together!”he insisted in a press release.
The opinion of the investigating commissioner being advisory, it is now up to the Métropole de Montpellier to decide whether or not to continue the projects. The sentence will be known in October.
