A collective of residents “against the location of the 5G antenna in Saint-Jean-Lagineste” was born in support of the town hall.
“An antenna more than 38 meters high will water the entire hamlet of Pépuriot and its thirty homes located right next to it!” protests a resident. “There are people who will live right in the area where the waves are broadcast, like this man whose house is 25 meters from the future antenna, or this baby who has just been born and whose brain will necessarily be exposed. Do we want to accept this?” Too close, risking the health of residents, distorting the landscape, located in the middle of a bend near the RD 940 in an accident-prone location… everyone has their arguments against this relay antenna project.
Three months of opposition
A look back at three months of opposition. On September 26, the town hall received a request in principle to install a 30 m high relay antenna on private land, the place called Les Fromentals, in Saint-Jean-Lagineste. The municipal council and the mayor are opposed to it, explaining that the project is located on a footbridge where there is a drinking water pipe. On October 25, the departmental commission for the preservation of natural, agricultural and forest areas also issued an unfavorable opinion because the location was not justified. The same goes for the Caulvador road service since the land is classified as PLUIH, a protected agricultural zone (PA) with environmental or landscape issues. The departmental management in charge of roads highlights the accident-prone nature of the location. The departmental committee for the preservation of natural spaces also issues an unfavorable opinion, as does the territorial service of Saint-Céré which specifies “no access to the RD 940 will be authorized” because the visibility distances are not compliant. Finally, accessibility to the site must be via the rural road adjoining the land, which causes problems (visibility, hedge to be cut and effect on the overhanging land, etc.).
But, to move forward, the municipality offers the project leader an alternative to the requested location. “We have several plots of land that would also do the job, and then we already have several usable relay antennas in the area, which have been placed in isolated areas” adds the collective. The owner of the land was also arrested, “but he is absolving himself of responsibility”, say the opponents, adding: “We even discussed the idea of paying the owner of the land the equivalent of this rental provided that the location changes…” All these unfavorable approaches and opinions in which local institutions were involved were not heard. The prefecture grants the building permit on November 19. Along the way, the height of the building increases from 30 to 38 meters with the lightning rod. The municipal council of Saint-Jean-Lagineste then rules on December 4 on a litigation appeal against the prefectural decision.
Spontaneously, in support of the town hall, the collective of residents was formed. On December 17, around sixty people signed a petition, sent to the Toulouse administrative court: “We did it in 48 hours in the middle of Christmas!” Other villages have already been at the heart of such a situation, observes the collective: “In Duravel in particular (our September editions)…here too in Saint-Jean-Lagineste we stand in solidarity with our mayor […] We are awaiting the opinion of the TA before January 19 and hope that he will tell us that he rejects this development project from the prefect. And if he doesn't reject it, we continue our actions.”
