The project of marina of Bretignolles finds its epilogue

During the summer, the project for a new marina in Bretignolles, in the Vendée, which was strongly contested, has been definitively stopped. Let's look back at the chronology of the facts and the reasons for the abandonment of the harbour facility.

Briag Merlet Published on August 25, 2021

The port of Bretignolles definitively abandoned

The community council of the Pays de Saint-Gilles Croix de Vie has put an end to the marina project in Bretignolles. Its elected representatives voted on July 22 to abandon the operation which planned 1000 moorings. Thanks to a change of political balance, the subject that had been the focus of tension has been resolved.

From the referendum to the ZAD

The history of the Port Brétignolles project began in 2003. Led by the mayor, Christophe Chabot, elected in 2001, it started with a planned capacity of 500 moorings in the Normandelière area. The first voices were raised and associations created to warn against the ecological impact of the new port infrastructure in a sensitive wetland and its budget. A local consultation obtained 51% support from the registered voters and 77% from the owners of secondary residences. The project progressed despite the division of the population. But in 2011, the project, which has doubled to accommodate 1000 boats, returns from the public inquiry with an unfavorable opinion. A new project is submitted to the public inquiry in 2018, with a favorable outcome. Despite the appeals, the bidding process is launched and the first works begin in 2019, under the control of the Community of Municipalities of the Pays de Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, which took over the port competence in 2015. Faced with the images of destruction of the dune, necessary for the project, the mobilization exceeds the sector and a ZAD is set up in October 2019.

Manifestations contre le port de BrÃ©tignolles — Demonstrations against the port of Bretignolles

During the 2020 elections, Christophe Chabot, who is no longer mayor of Brétignolles but a simple councillor, fails to take the head of the community council. The new majority appointed a mediation commission. This one gives its conclusions on July 8, 2021. Faced with these, the elected officials decided on July 22 to put an end to the project.

Each actor will draw his own conclusions, but there is no doubt that the Bretignolles project shows the nautical sector a series of mistakes not to be made, first of all in environmental matters.