the essential
Elected officials unanimously decided to stop the current project and do everything possible to open the swimming pool for the 2025 season.
After heated discussions during the last meeting of the municipal council on November 6 around the municipal swimming pool renovation project.
After having made the history of the various studies and diagnoses which, over the months and municipal councils, led the elected officials to opt for an amount of €3,060,200 of work, Mayor Gilbert Blanc stated the impossibility to raise the expected funding and asks elected officials, “very reluctantly”, to stop the project.
Urgency to intervene
Stating that the swimming pool is a seriously degraded piece of equipment on which it is urgent to intervene, and that the municipal team was keen to bring it up to standard and sustainably renovate it for the next 30 to 40 years, he informed the council of the State's non-commitment to this project.
During an on-site meeting on October 17, the sub-prefect of Villefranche Christophe Burbaud confirmed that after the refusal of the subsidies requested in 2024 no new subsidies would be granted next year. The numerous requests from municipalities cannot be met in view of the available subsidy budgets and the budgetary restrictions for local authorities announced by the Barnier government. All this does not bode well for the future of small towns.
Unanimous vote
The mayor explains that it is not possible to undertake this project at the risk of unbalancing municipal finances and calling into question other projects in progress or in the future. After numerous discussions, elected officials unanimously decided to stop the current project and do everything possible to open the swimming pool for the 2025 season by carrying out the strictly necessary work.
The municipal team considers that this is an important facility not only for the tourist sector, but also for the Najacois and surrounding residents, in a context of increasing scorching summers.
