“a house of associations, yes, but not in front of our house”

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These residents of Roaillan (Gironde) did not imagine that the vacant land in the middle of their subdivision would one day accommodate a building. They have today formed a collective of around ten people, to oppose a municipal project: the creation of a house of associations, on this land, located on Allée des Acacias.

Letter to the mayor and the administrative court of Bordeaux

“We wrote to the mayor and the administrative court of Bordeaux, because we wish to exercise an appeal for the annulment of this decisiongranting planning permission” explain the protesters.

We are not against the creation of a house of associations in the commune, but not in this location. Furthermore, this unreasonably expensive project is oversized.

Several arguments motivate their point of view. First, “in an era where we must above all prioritize green spaces, Roaillan town hall plans to concrete,” they lament. Asked by The South-Gironde Republicanthe mayor of Roaillan, Jean-François Tauzin, immediately retorted: “of course we have a crazy desire to concrete in Roaillan, it’s obvious: look around the square, all the concrete there is… No , but seriously, we’re just going to make a big house of 270m². They too built their house at the time and lost land, if we go that way…”

“273m² of natural land lost”

For opponents, it is in any case “273m² of natural land lost”. They speak of vegetation sheltering “many species of birds” and “green spaces playing an essential role in the protection of the ecosystem, in a worrying climatic context”, reproaching the perspective of “ cut down at least three beautiful trees ».

The mayor corrects: “Of the 6 or 7 small trees, we are only going to remove two small ones. These are not oaks 30 meters high or of exceptional girth. Just two young plum trees which were going to touch the building and which we are going to replant elsewhere ».

He adds: “the house will be on land that is almost one hectare, so everything else will remain green space. We will carry out landscaping, with clean paths. »

“Soil that is too clayey”

The problem is also pointed out by the collective, which consulted the construction plan at the town hall: “half of the building will be placed on backfilled land, with very shallow foundations and presents a high level of risk of damaging cracking due to the current very unstable climate in the region.

On this point, Jean-François Tauzin is categorical: “ the commune of Roaillan is certainly classified as a high risk zonebut it is not in the red zone. It just means taking precautions. »

Which does not prevent dissatisfied local residents from wondering about the “too clayey” nature of the land, raising fears about “the structural integrity of a long-term construction”, recalling “the situation of the nursery school on the roof collapsed.”

The mayor exclaimed: “We are not going to build the association house on stilts all the same! We had a soil study done, which is mandatory. Depending on the results, things will be done according to the rules. We have just received authorization from Bâtiments de France,” he assures us.

« Of course, precautions must be taken.but if we refrain from building, then in this case, half of the houses in Roaillan should not have existed, because practically the entire commune is on land of this type. And for the association house, it is not backfilled land. I have lived in Roaillan for 50 years and I have never seen this land being filled in. »

“Risk of flooding”

Among opponents, there is a concern about “rainwater, not absorbed by the existing (almost virgin) land, which would therefore be evacuated towards a home (at 11 Allée du Lavoir) and also towards the recently restored wash house” . The mayor recognizes that “there have been floods, but the entire lower part of the land was drained and connected to the source 3 or 4 years ago,” he says.

“The piping in the village, including in the town where this land is located, already presents known integrity concerns. Would there still be trenches to plan? », asks the collective. “It’s not Verdun here, it’s Roaillan!” “, replies the mayor, annoyed. “Trenches, no, there will be connections to water, sanitation, rainwater, wastewater. But only normal connections, like for a home. »

These residents also question the municipality about the “additional visual pollution” that the electrical power cables will bring “which will certainly be overhead and of a certain thickness”.

“Visual pollution and noise pollution”

The mayor replies: “We made the technical room a little further away. It’s an underground network, we will try to run it underground for the house, if possible. But you have to know what they want: either they are against the trenches or against visual pollution.”

Another subject of contention, explain the protesters: “We are already sufferingsignificant noise pollution (often until 3-4 a.m.), linked to the frequent evenings in the current village hall. By building on this land, there could be similar nuisances linked to the use of this house of associations, not to mention the ten parking spaces which will be created in front of our house, for sometimes around forty cars which will come for meetings …”.

Beyond the visual nuisance, we will have a loss of privacy, neighborhood disturbances and therefore a deterioration in our quality of life.

The mayor shrugs his shoulders: “ The average age of users of this future room must be between 70 and 80 years old. They play cards, Scrabble, sew, take Spanish lessons… In principle, it shouldn’t make much noise. We didn’t count football or tennis, they will only come occasionally because they already have their clubhouse. »

“Parking problems”

He recognizes that “there will perhaps be an evening or two for the general meetings, so at worst, around fifteen cars, with one or two doors that will slam, at most. And they will also park in the car park a little further up, in the subdivision, about 30 meters away. So much in terms of noise pollution. And for the current village hall, I have received very few complaints.”

We fear more restricted access to our home due to this project. We will have the right to a wall, and probably an air conditioning condenser in front of our house, instead of the current unobstructed view.

According to the collective, “the number of members in the associations mentioned in the building permit application is incorrect and these associations can use the already existing places (the village hall and a town hall room) for their meetings. »

“The figures are those provided by the associations themselves, they are favorable to the project,” indicates the mayor. “Currently, there is a room behind the town hall, which is used by the festival committee, where it stores its equipment,” he continues. But when the roof of the nursery school collapsed, one room of this room was first used as a classroom, then there was extracurricular activities in it, and the other room serves as an office for the teachers. »

And the mayor adds: “So all we have left is the technical room and storage. And we always had the intention of trying to expand the town hall in this locationbecause it is very limited in place and even more so when services, or social workers, etc. come to provide on-call duty. »

However, the school problem “has suspended this expansion project which can be re-examined, once the associations have their own house and the school is repaired,” he announces.

“An expense that is not very relevant, or even unreasonable”

But for the protesters, “there are other more urgent and priority projects in the town ( nursery school, sidewalk maintenance, a secure path to the Langon-Bazas cycle path for example) before allocating more than €500,000 to a construction project that is not essential to the life of the village,” they estimate. This expense seems to them “of little relevance to the life of the municipality, even unreasonable”.

“The municipality’s finances are healthy,” reassures Jean-François Tauzin. And grant applications are underway for this project.” The collective otherwise suggests “construction onvacant land, already available opposite the stadium, in the Talinoy housing estate, route de Léogeats“. It is, according to them, more suitable: “flatter, not sloping, on less clayey soil, with easier access and parking, not overlooked by the neighborhood”.

“Not possible,” replies the mayor. “We are there on a gym project. For school children, with a room for indoor sports: tennis, basketball, judo, handball. We won’t have room for the other associations and they’re not the same things. Over there,it will truly be a sports center with a 1000m² building, showers, changing rooms, fire brigade access… The file is also budgeted. »

And to add: “The associations of the future house of associations, for their activities, they must be close to the village hall, because they have all their equipment to transport. At the stadium, it would be too far.”

“Loss of real estate value of our homes”

As for the financial argument – ​​“if we want to resell our houses in 5 or 10 years, they will have lost value, due to this building project, located really very close to us” – the mayor responds:“We can’t please everyone.And if the municipality does not have sufficient services or community life assets, people will not come to settle here either. »

The collective feels “trapped, backed into a corner”, regretting, according to them, “having discovered the project when soil surveys were carried out on the land, or when the building permit sign was installed”.

But for the mayor,“the house of associations did not suddenly come out of the hat like that; It has been included in the municipal budget for at least two years and has been included in the projects for even longer. The reports are published online on the town hall website. In addition, we consulted all the presidents of the associations to identify their needs. At least two protesting residents are members of these associations.”

“If they go through with the process for the administrative court,” notes the mayor, “the town hall will be forced to hire a lawyer, it will cost even more. For people who advocate saving money for those administered, that is not the way to do it…”

And in fact, the opponents “do not think of going any further. This risks costing us too much,” they confide, disappointed.

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