It is a little corner of paradise, a vast piece of land bordered to the south by beaches and opening to the north towards a rural past from which it does not intend to part. “Guidel is an old rural town which has become attractive,” comments its mayor Jo Daniel. The data from the latest population census, published this Thursday, December 19, 2024 by INSEE, bears witness to this. In six years (2016-2022), the town (12,236 inhabitants) has gained 848 inhabitants and shows an average annual growth of 1.2%. “Guidel has been progressing since the 2000s. It’s progressing regularly.” An attractiveness that the City supports in its developments, hence the revision, in July 2024, of the PLU (local urban plan). “We are counting on progression” to the tune of 13,000 to 13,500 inhabitants. “We are not looking to absolutely increase the population. What we want is to keep a good balance between the three components that make up our identity: our rural roots, our urban center and the coastal zone.”
Guidel is a town where life is good. This is one of our main concerns, making the majority of people feel at home.
223 accommodations in the heart of the city
In just a few years, the old rural town has changed. And it attracts. Jo Daniel sees in the demographic dynamics of his municipality, the concomitant arrival of young parents and young seniors “with all that this implies in terms of services”. A movement that the City is supporting with the launch of work on the ZAC in the heart of the city. It involves the creation of 223 housing units and 1,200 m² of local shops. “Guidel is engaged in a profound change which accompanies and anticipates this demographic dynamism.” The issue is less quantitative than qualitative. “Guidel is a town where life is good. This is one of our main concerns, making the majority of people feel at home.” A town on a human scale. Like its neighbor, Ploemeur, which shares with it this (recent) opening on the coast and a strong rural anchoring. “Ploemeur was a town of farmers until the 1970s,” recalls its mayor Ronan Loas.
Peak of kindergarten students
The town of Ploemeur now has 18,873 inhabitants. In six years, it has seen its population increase significantly: 962 inhabitants. This demographic resurgence does not surprise Ronan Loas. “When I arrived, the situation was very different with declining school numbers and a demographic that was suffering from an aging effect.” Today, he highlights the “peak of students in nursery classes, the three classes gained at Lomener public school”. He also evokes a “change of model” with the one which, before the 2000s, rather advocated urban sprawl as a means of fixing the population. “It was the vision of the time.”
A dynamic is maintained. Our big challenge is old age, we must support the aging of Ploemeurois.
Eco-district: planning permission submitted in 2025
In 2017, the City changed its paradigm and wanted to “diversify the forms of housing” in order to meet the expectations of young couples but also seniors. “We provided solutions. Ploemeur has never produced so much social housing.” And it’s not over yet. “A dynamic is maintained. Our big challenge is old age, we must support the aging of Ploemeurois.” In 2025, the planning permit will be filed for the future eco-district which will take place in the heart of the city, covering 23,000 m², in place of technical services; in 2027 a senior residence for non-dependent people should be delivered. It is still the 500 m² dedicated to medical and paramedical services in the heart of the city. “Today, there is a Ploemeurois spirit! Ploemeur pleases.”
