Land headache before major works in the lower Vidourle plain

Jean-Pierre Navas, maire de Villetelle a accueilli les élus délégués à l’EPTB Vidourle. Midi Libre – JPS

Le comité syndical de l’EPTB Vidourle s’est réuni ce jeudi 28 mars à Villetelle (Hérault) pour débattre du budget 2024, mais pas que…

The last union committee of the Vidourle Territorial Public Establishment of the Basin (EPTB) could not have been calmer. The representatives of the ten intermunicipalities which sit there met this Thursday, March 28, in the Georges-Frêche room in Villetelle and approved, without batting an eyelid, the 2024 budget which amounts to a little more than 8  nbsp;M€ (read below). They also gave discharge to the establishment's teams to undertake several actions within the framework of the 3rd Flood Prevention Program (Papi 3).

An official signature of Papi 3 after the Europeans

A Papi 3 who, after being officially certified last year, has just passed a final obstacle with the lifting of the last reservation issued by the Gard prefecture on one of the actions programmed on the commune of Sommières. Florian Rochette, general director of EPTB services, indicated that « the Papi 3 is now fully operational in its entirety. & raquo;The next step, between now and the end of April, goes through the departments of Hérault and Gard which will have to approve, in turn, the document and commit to their respective funding and hellip; consequent. The loop will be completed with an official signing ceremony after the European elections, a period of State reserve required, announced the EPTB.

Right Bank, a public inquiry in 2025

Regarding the main achievements of this 3rd action program, mainly located on the right bank of the Vidourle (first and second row dikes at Lunel and Marsillargues in particular), the timetable as indicated by Florian Rochette plans, after the work of a design office, to submit the investigation file in September with a forecast for a public inquiry for 2025.

The cost of a plot questions and worries

Until then, EPTB will have continued to acquire the land necessary to carry out these actions. However, on this question, there was a debate this Thursday. An innocuous purchase of a small plot of 3,000 m2 on the right bank of the Vidourle, on the Chemin des Cantaridies in Lunel, raised questions. Around ten elected officials preferred to abstain. The reason? The plot was purchased by EPTB, over the counter, after an estimate from Safer at 30,000 euros. A sum well below the 90,000 euros; initially requested by the owner but still disproportionate to the value of the agricultural land, 1.5 € of m2. Régis Vianet (representative of Terre de Camargue and elected in charge of finances at the EPTB), like Jean Claude Armand (Grand Pic Saint-Loup) underlined the importance of drafting the act of sale : « You have to be very careful, emphasize that it’is exceptional so as not to create a reference price. & raquo;

A major plot for work on the right bank

Florian Rochette explained the reasons for the price difference. « This plot has become recreational land, in the private sense of the term with amenities: a shed, a fence, a vineyard which add value to its price even though they are perfectly illegal . » An explanation which did not convince André Mégias (Petite Camargue): «&amp ;nbsp;This is very tendentious because it’s very easy to develop agricultural land: you put in a caravan, a fence and it becomes recreational land. & ;raquo; The elected official regretted that France Domaine had not been seized but Véronique Michel (Lunel Agglo also elected to urban planning in Lunel) stressed that « France Domaine is having difficulty intervening on my agricultural land. » Ultimately, the’ EPTB insisted on « the capital interest of this plot which is located at the start of the future first row dike between Lunel and Marsillargues. &amp ;raquo;

€8.59M budget in 2024

Finances. The operating budget of EPTB Vidourle is increasing ; 4.095 M€. Technical operations and personnel costs mobilize almost the entire company. of this budget. In terms of personnel, two agents will be recruited in 2024 as part of Papi 3: a manager; mission on vulnerability and another on water resources. These positions are funded by private funds. 50% by the Water Agency. The investment budget amounts to 4.5 M€ with studies related to flood prevention and dike reinforcement work Saint-Laurent-d’Aigouze. À point out that the contribution of intercommunalities (2.5 M€) to this budget will drop by 31% due to an overpayment in 2023.

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