the puzzle of this coastal town to find building land

Mesquer, a seaside town on the Guérande peninsula (Loire-Atlantique), is launching the revision of its local town planning plan which dates from 2012.

The inhabitants concerted

A long procedure which initially provides for the validation of the Sustainable Planning and Development Project, the PADD. Beyond the technocratic terminology of these two documents, it is the future of the municipality, 10-15 years from now, that is in question.

Hence the consultation initiated (a paper questionnaire is available at the town hall reception or on the municipality's website.) at the end of December 2024 and until the beginning of March 2025 to involve the population in this approach. A group of elected officials, from the majority and the minority, are also working on the subject.

“The future of the community”

The Plu is not only about knowing if my plot is buildable or not. Of course it will allow zoning and town planning rules. But above all it concerns the future of the municipality.

Since 2023, Mesquer has been supported by the services of the Baule/Guérande Cap Atlantique agglomeration to carry out the process.

Housing, transport, environment…

“In April 2024, a socio-economic and environmental diagnosis was drawn up to prepare the PADD which remains the basis of the Plu,” adds Marie Tabarly of Cap Atlantique.

Housing, travel, environment, heritage, childhood-youth, associative fabric, associations, businesses, culture… everything is put through the mill (with the contribution of residents) to establish perspectives and initiate actions.

Where and for whom to build?

What sites are we protecting? Which areas to build housing? And for whom to build?

These are, for the mayor of Mesquer, the challenges of this revision. The town has almost 75% second homes. Here, land pressure is such that it stifles settlement projects. The price of real estate doesn't help anything. Complicated to find accommodation, whether for ownership or rental.

However, the municipality wants the arrival of new residents to support its school, its businesses, its associative fabric, its cultural life.

Attract families

Certainly, Mesquer is gaining inhabitants (it went from 1938 in 2016 to 2156 in 2022) but it wants to attract families.

“There is this project of 20 housing units under real solidarity lease. We also have the site of the Sainte-Thérèse school which could accommodate housing and a community hall. I will fight for the town hall to buy this plot in the center of the town,” confides Jean-Pierre Bernard.

Rare land

“But we have a difficulty in building: land. It is increasingly rare with regulations on urban continuity, zero land artificialization. There is land on the edge of villages that could be built on. But it’s not possible,” adds the mayor.

“Mesquer is a balanced municipality, with measured growth but which needs building land for year-round residents,” notes Marie Tabary.

The salt marshes, between Mesquer, Quimiac and Kercabellec, the remarkable sites which make the town rich, such as its coastline, the Merquel bôle, also reduce the available land.

No question of nibbling agricultural areas

As for agricultural areas, “no question of nibbling them. We must preserve agriculture,” insists Jean-Pierre Bernard.

The calendar

On April 4, 2025, a public meeting will report on the consultation and present the diagnosis. In June 2025, the elected representatives of the municipal council will debate the PADD and then address the question of zoning, between July 2025 and November 2026. After public inquiry, the Plu must be adopted by the municipal council at the end of 2027, with in the meantime, municipal elections in March 2026.

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