Lisieux. The city acquires the old courthouse, what will it do with it?

In Lisieux (Calvados), the Matignon court connects Place François-Mitterrand and the Bishop’s Palace garden.

It is surrounded by buildings with a rich history: the former episcopal palaceon the one hand (which marks the entrance door to the courtyard) and the old courthouseon the other hand.

Abandoned or dilapidated places

Problem, the old episcopal palace, ravaged by fire in 2000, has certainly been rehabilitated on the outside, but the interior has remained derelict. “This part of the building is in poor condition. The floors and ceilings have been reinforced with props, and the upper floor is not usable,” notes Jean-René Desmonts, deputy mayor.

The old courthouse, located in the same courtyard, is left abandoned since 2020, date of the court’s move to the former Wonder factory site.

The city acquires part of the building

The city wants to rehabilitate and enhance these places, the question of buying these two buildings was discussed in the city council:

• The first buildingwith a surface area of ​​688 m2, is the former episcopal palace itself, known as “the Cospéan wing”.
• The second building, with a surface area of ​​3,163 m2, is the former courthouse.

The city voted the acquisition of the two plots from the Department for an amount of 30 000 €.

But the state keeps its share of the pie

Small legal peculiarity, The state retains part of the old courthouse. In fact, a small piece of the building (542 m2), corresponding to the former gendarmerie, to “the brick part at the back of the building, where there were the jails” still belongs to the State.

The city also wanted to buy this part of the building, but the State is asking for a sum deemed “excessive” (€210,000). Mayor’s counter-offer Sébastien Leclerc (€15,000) was refused by the State, which therefore put this plot up for sale to any buyer for an amount of €80,000. A sale which raises a question:

I don’t see what the State could do with this portion, given that the two buildings are very closely intertwined.

What will become of the places?

The future of the premises remains rather vague for the moment. These buildings would be intended “to welcome residents, users, tourists, etc.”

Concerning the work on the “Cospéan wing”, rehabilitation and contract award projects were presented to the municipal council in November 2023, for an amount of 2.5 million euros.

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