victim of its success, this municipality seeks to slow down its growth

Couzeix, a small town located not far from Limoges, is doing well… and even too well. More and more people are coming to settle down… Any good news? Yes and no, and we'll explain why it's not so simple.

Unlike Limoges which is losing inhabitants, the Haut-Vienne commune gained nearly 800, between 2016 and 2022.

Good news for the residents encountered, at the start of the year, in the streets of the town: “JI'm super surprised, but I think it's really good! There are more and more young people in the city and I think that’s great!”comments Aurélie Valod, baker for eleven years in Couzeix (87).

Real dynamism with a dozen traders present in the town and some 900 children divided between nursery school (300 toddlers) and elementary school (600 young people).

For Sébastien Larcher, DVD mayor of the town, this attractiveness remains good news to put into perspective: “This confirms that Couzeix remains a dynamic and lively town. So, in any case, we can rejoice in the attractiveness, even if it is true that we must be careful to structure all the municipal buildings accessible to the public. population.”

And that's perhaps where the problem lies… Couzeix has crossed the bar of 10,000 inhabitants. “I'm not surprised, given the construction that is being done…”, notes Monique, who has lived here for ten years.

To cope, construction sites are indeed springing up all over the city. And the councilor explains that he is sometimes helpless: “LThe mayor that I am does not have all the levers to block all the real estate transactions that can take place, contrary to what many think. As soon as a project complies with town planning rules, I have no other way than to validate it.”

Couzeix's situation is not unique. Over the previous decade, in France, 24,000 hectares of natural, agricultural and forest areas were consumed each year. This corresponds to five football fields per hour. To combat this artificialization of land, the “Climate and Resilience” law provides for urban planning rules that are more concerned with the environment. Therefore, the equation is complex for the municipalities.

Also read : “We consume far too much space”: the dismay of elected officials from small rural communities who can no longer expand

Sébastien Larcher, however, says he is attentive to the situation and explains that he wants to take a “slowing down” approach: “DSince 2016, our PLU has carried all of this. We are committed to ensuring that we can further regulate the arrival of the population. And today, the upcoming regulations, plus all the measures we have put in place, will allow us to slow down the growth of Couzeix.”

The elected official says he is waiting for the 2028 – 2029 local urban plan to “undoubtedly seeing buildable areas greatly reduced.”