The marina of Brétignolles-sur-Mer declared of public utility
The Prefect of the Vendée signed the declaration of public utility of the marina project in Brétignolles-sur-Mer, as well as the requests for the use of the public maritime domain and the creation of a port. The project, which is more than 15 years old, was first rejected in 2011 for environmental reasons and was relaunched in 2018 by the community of municipalities of the Pays de Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. The main reasons given to justify the general interest of the project are as follows:
meet a demand for pleasure rings, in a local context marked, according to the authorities, by a shortage of available places
- strengthen the economic and tourist attractiveness of the Brétignolles-sur-Mer region
- the creation of direct or indirect jobs related to boating and trade
- the insurance of a budget for the construction of the marina limited to 30 million euros excluding VAT
- ensuring that ecological impacts are limited and compensated.
The project, located in the current natural wetland of the Marais-Girard, plans to accommodate 1,000 boats.
Recourse of the associations against the future marina
The opponents of the marina project in Brétignolles did not admit defeat. Federated around the association La Vigie, they are considering administrative appeals. EELV elected officials are particularly concerned in the local press about the risks to drinking water. "The watertightness of the basins would be ensured and there would be no penetration of salt water into the groundwater table, but ecologists point out the lack of information provided. The risk of this project polluting the groundwater table of our coastline is too great."
