Elected officials and residents of this Lot village are fighting against a 36-meter relay antenna

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While the project meets opposition from the municipality of Saint-Jean-Laginestenear Saint-Céré, and local residents, the Lot prefecture is not opposed to the establishment of a 36 meter mobile phone relay antennas by TDF at a place called “Les Fromentals”.

On private land in Saint-Jean-Lagineste

TDF (Télédiffusion de France) wants to install a mobile telephone relay antenna in the town of Saint-Jean-Lagineste, on private land located at a place called “Les Fromentals”. The project provides for theinstallation of a 30 meter antenna outside the lightning rod (36 meters in total), the installation of a network cabinet and the fence of the land.

Local residents discovered this project with the installation of the work declaration sign on the site. They then decided to mobilize to express their opposition, the first house being located about twenty meters from the possible antenna, just on the other side of the RD940. A petition was circulated and signs were installed along the roads.

The municipality gives an unfavorable opinion

TDF SAS filed a declaration of works on September 9, 2024. The elected officials of the municipality of Saint-Jean-Lagineste then discovered this project to install a mobile telephone pylon on private land.

On September 26, Monique Martignac, mayor of Saint-Jean-Laginestegives an unfavorable opinion, specifying that the plot in question is crossed by a water pipe. The municipal council “believes that if local residents have to bear the nuisance, it would be logical that they could at least benefit from a financial return via the municipal budget” (the land in question is private, TDF will pay rent to the owner). The municipality is offering other municipal land to install this antenna. But it seems that these proposals were not studied by the project leader.

On October 25, the Departmental Commission for the Preservation of Natural, Agricultural and Forestry Areas* (CDPENAF) issues an unfavorable opinion considering that “the location is not justified”. In the PLUi (Local Intercommunal Urban Planning Plan), the land in the place called “Les Fromentals” is classified as a protected agricultural zone, “with an environmental or landscape issue”.

The Saint-Céré territorial road servicewhich depends on the Lot Department, gives a “reserved favorable opinion”, while specifying: “No access to the RD 940 will be authorized, the visibility distances not being in compliance with the departmental road regulations”. The departmental service stipulates that access to the land in question must be via the rural road, with possible development to secure access.

With all these opinions, the Lot prefecture take a “ non-opposition order with prescriptions to a prior declaration on behalf of the State” on November 19, signed by Anne Cécile Vialle, still sub-prefect at the time. Clearly, the State is not opposed to the establishment of this relay antenna at the place called “Les Fromentals” on condition of carrying out a development specified in the document: “The hedge located along the RD 940, side of the antenna installation project, must be cut at ground level along the land unit and regularly maintained in order to improve visibility to the right of the access “.

The municipality makes a contentious appeal

The “non-opposition” order may be the subject of a contentious appeal before the administrative court within two months of its notification.

The municipal council of Saint-Jean-Lagineste therefore made a contentious appeal which was registered by the administrative court of Toulouse on December 17.

In this document, the municipality indicates that, “if this project is absolutely essential, it can offer one or more plots of land to install this antenna”more isolated communal land with therefore less nuisance for local residents. She mentions land on the heights of the town on which an SDIS antenna is already established. Another possibility, land located at a place called Bargade in the nearby town of Saint-Vincent-du-Pendit where there are two antennas, including one of TDF. If these proposals are not suitable, the commune of Saint-Jean-Lagineste still has two other plots which could do the trick.

The municipality also mentions access to the site: “The very busy rural footpath does not, in its current configuration, allow a truck exit under any circumstances”. She is also surprised by the prefecture's proposal to cut the hedge, evoking the “Pact in favor of the hedge” presented in October 2023 and “whose bill was just adopted by the Senate Economic Affairs Committee on December 4, the State is now contradicting itself”.

In the document, the municipal council of Saint-Jean-Lagineste also reports “the hostility of local residents” to this project. The petition was also added to the contentious appeal.

Elected officials and residents are now awaiting the decision of the Toulouse administrative court. In the meantime, opponents continue to mobilize.

* The CDPENAF “is one of the tools of the strategy to combat the artificialization of agricultural land” (source: www.ecologie.gouv.fr/)

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