What could the Île de Thau district look like by 2031, thanks to urban renovation ?

Visite de l’Île de Thau et point d’étape pour Anne-Claire Mialot, directrice générale de l’Anru, et les partenaires de la rénovation urbaine du quartier. Midi Libre – Patrice Espinasse

Nine of the twenty-one urban renovation operations on the Île de Thau have already been completed. By 2031, the redevelopment of Avenue Mendès-France, the creation of a bridge, demolitions and rehabilitations should profoundly change the district.

She didn't come to Sète for nothing. In a very lively outing, which preceded visits to Agde and Béziers, Anne-Claire Mialot was able to gauge, in 75 minutes, the vast plan benefiting the Isle of Thau, this Thursday, September 26. With the various stakeholders, City and State in the lead, the Director General of the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRU) crisscrossed the sensitive district on foot, reviewing the operations carried out and those to come.

Significant resources are committed here: 24 million euros for the period 2019-2024. They have already enabled nine projects, some of which were essential: the renovation of the Anatole-France school (*), the construction of a new shopping centre, the expansion of La Passerelle, the creation of a new Llense multi-purpose hall (2.4 million euros), a synthetic sports field, a mechanical area…

Twelve operations by 2031

However, we are only halfway there. The New National Urban Renewal Programme (NPNRU) provides for major new investments in the district. Of the €39 million requested, 17 have been granted. Not all projects will be completed. But there are still twelve additional operations, and not the least, that will see the light of day on the Isle of Thau by 2031.

First emblematic achievement: the construction of a new bridge from spring 2025. It will see the light of day from Avenue Mendès-France, at the north-eastern entrance, creating a new service. “This is a major achievement. It will help to open up the neighborhood and reconnect spaces", explains Mariane Lattuca Toly, project manager.

The bridge will provide access to Mermoz and Guynemer avenues along the synthetic pitch, requiring, among other things, the transfer of the skate park near the multi-purpose hall. The work will last 18 months for a budget of €4 million (€2.5 million for the bridge, €1.5 million for the road network).

Finding a neighborhood heart

Other key works: the redevelopment of Avenue Mendès-France, the main axis that crosses the entire neighborhood. It will be redesigned, narrowed, secured with the creation of a greenway for bicycles and pedestrians. Parking will be reorganized.“Here, you can do everything on foot in ten minutes, except that, for now, the routes are very complex, through cars and parking lots. Tomorrow, every child in the neighborhood will have to be able to walk from home to school safely and for multiple purposes”, points out urban planner Clément Bodin.

Removal of waterproofing, requalification of axes and rehabilitations (some outside Anru) will follow one another. Other structuring public elements will also emerge from the ground, such as the service center that will accommodate social structures from the Department, an annex town hall, a branch of the CCAS… “With the new shopping center, the church, the service center, the Passerelle and the mosque, we will find a heart of the neighborhood and a centrality of facilities", estimates Mariane Lattuca Toly.

Globe, Seinchole: 64 housing units demolished

But nothing would be truly effective without action on housing. If 230 homes have already been renovated in La Traine, Cannas and Sardinal, 263 others will be renovated by Hérault Logement from the end of 2025 in La Seinchole and Le Véradier (13.5 M€).

More spectacular, the two openings scheduled on Avenue Saint-Exupéry and the Mail de la Seinchole. Preceded by a rehousing operation, they will see the demolition of five bays under the porch of the Globe (54 housing units) for the first, of building No. 16 of the Seinchole (10 housing units) for the second, by 2026-2027, allowing the creation of a large pedestrian mall. The operation “weaving places, weaving links” is launched on the Île de Thau.

(*) The Anatole-France – Suzanne-Lacore school group will be inaugurated on Friday, October 4.

The mini-market for the end of the year ?

A year after its opening, the new shopping center is still not full. A tobacconist, a butcher, a pharmacy and a hairdresser were joined in May 2024 by a medical center with three doctors, two nurses and a midwife. But two businesses are still missing from the seven lots initially planned: the bakery and the highly anticipated mini-market. However, for both, it seems that we are finally close to completion. After the withdrawal of a first supermarket manager and the proceedings initiated against him, which delayed the opening by more than a year, a lease is being finalized with a new manager. “He is working on the interior design. We hope to open the supermarket by the end of the year”, says Mariane Lattuca Toly.

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