“We are preparing to surround one of the most majestic castles of the Gers”: he speaks out against two construction projects near Montégut

“It is a castle which was occupied by Jean Poton de Xaintrailles, a knight who liberated Bordeaux from the English in 1451. King Charles VII relied on him at the time.” Bertrand Wiedemann-Goiran knows where to start when it comes to presenting the Château de Montégut, owned by the family for ten generations. Today, it is not an English threat that we are talking about, but rather new constructions.

Built in the 13th^e century, the imposing building dominates the town of Auch on its eastern slope. From the top of the main tower, the 360-degree panoramic view is breathtaking. You can admire Sainte-Marie Cathedral to the west and the Pyrenees to the south. In the north, on the other hand, the spectacle is a little less encouraging. “You see here, on the road leading to Toulouse, the field of solar panels which has been installed along the road. Now, it is planned to do the same thing on the other side,” laments Bertrand Wiedemann-Goiran .

“My family has come from Gers for a very long time”

Son of the current owner, this former executive at GDF-Suez is directly targeting two projects, starting with the creation of the Naréoux concerted activity zone (ZAC). Confirmed last June by the agglomeration of Grand Auch in the heart of Gascony, this ZAC plans to extend over an area of ​​27 hectares, at the foot of the village. New factories and a solar park could also be built on adjoining land. The other project, much more hypothetical for the moment, concerns the Auch bypass. This deviation of the RN 21, work on which should not begin before “the end of the decade”, according to the president of the Department Philippe Dupouy, could in fact pass through Montégut.

Seen from the castle, the landscape would not be spared, to the great dismay of Bertrand Wiedemann-Goiran. “My family has come from the Gers for a very long time. There are ten generations in a direct line between Jean David, whom the Auscitains know well because he has his place in Auch, and me. This shows my family's attachment to the both to this castle but also to the town of Auch. This is why I am very sensitive to the work that could be done around this castle so as not to disfigure it”, testifies the person concerned.

“This castle is a lot of concerns”

Although he does not live there all year round, Bertrand Wiedemann-Goiran insists on the personal and family investment that makes it possible to maintain this centuries-old residence. “This castle is a lot of concerns,” he says, before detailing the main works undertaken in recent decades, from the repair of the roof of the stables to that of the turrets, including the framework and the facade. exterior of the most recent part, dating from the 18th century^e century. “It is built with the same stone as Sainte-Marie Cathedral. This stone is fragile. Around the hinges, it cracked. We had to have everything redone by a specialist,” he explains.

Reassured, Bertrand Wiedemann-Goiran ensures that he understands the concerns of the city of Auch and the agglomeration. However, he would like other options to be studied. “We are preparing to surround one of the most majestic castles of the Gers with a field of solar panels, and to be sure to massacre its environment, with a deviation,” he sighs. In desperation, the owner's son “readily invites the prefectural authorities” to go there to see the potential damage. If there is no longer an English threat on the horizon, the fight may once again be long.