Îlot Saint-Esprit, in the heart of Béziers: the project taken over by Buesa

The block has started to be demolished, as part of the urban renewal program. Midi Libre – Mélissa Alcoléa

L'îlot a commencé à être démoli, dans le cadre du programme de renouvellement urbain. Midi Libre – Mélissa Alcoléa

Attacked by the administrative court in 2020, the urban requalification project of the Saint-Esprit island, in Béziers, was abandoned by the developer Hectare. The demolition of this dilapidated complex, a stone's throw from the Madeleine church, is underway. The land will then be transferred to Margaux Buesa, with a transfer of building permits. 

"We're happy. It's a first relief, reacts Hadrien Ginouvez. This Biterrois resident is the president of the Association for the Protection of Biterrois Heritage (APPB), created in 2019. The information was confirmed to him at the end of the last municipal council, which took place on February 5: the contemporary real estate project which was carried out by the company Envol (Hectare group) on the Saint-Esprit island, in two steps from the Madeleine church, in the heart of the city, was abandoned by this developer.

With two other associations, "Béziers notre patrimoine" and "Urgences patrimoines", he had attacked the building permit at the administrative court of Montpellier, end of 2020. But the judge ruled that the three applicant associations were not justified in requesting the cancellation of the permit. "We appealed in March 2022. Since then, we have been waiting for a date for the appeal…", explains- he. The opponents essentially denounced, at the time, "a problem of integration into the landscape and the architectural environment of the square. Visually, it stood out. There was a building 20 meters high, a covisibility problem with a historic monument, no tiled roof…"

"We would like to be reassured"

Vigilant, Hadrien Ginouvez continues: "We need a project, we need to reclassify this island. But we would like to be reassured. We hope that the new developer will be intelligent enough to take into account common sense remarks for a project that fits aesthetically. Then the bet will be won…"

The demolition of the three buildings making up this block, dilapidated and abandoned buildings, has already started, financed by Anru (National Agency for Urban Renewal). And the municipal council has just validated the transfer of the land supporting the destroyed buildings to Margaux Buesa, in their own name. As part of this transfer, a building permit – the second presented by the company Envol – was transferred to Margaux Buesa. The latter thus takes over the program.

"This is a permit which took into account the remarks of the architect of the Buildings of France", indicates Robert Ménard. The facade will thus be maintained. The man of the art " had found it necessary to preserve it, for the articulation between the new and the' old, it was a missing link", specifies Géraldine Bedès, director of the city's urban planning department.  

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