L.Lacq-Orthez’s Local Intercommunal Urban Planning Plan (PLUI) promises profound upheavals, especially in terms of housing. As stated at the public meeting held in Orthez on October 12th.
L.Lacq-Orthez’s Local Intercommunal Urban Planning Plan (PLUI) promises profound upheavals, especially in terms of housing. As stated at the public meeting held in Orthez on October 12th.
“The Local Housing Plan currently being revised will determine the number of homes in the area and PLUI will decide where,” Emmanuel Hanon, mayor of Orthez and CCLO vice president of finance, said in the introduction. We are already reclaiming abandoned housing, this is the case with OPAH-RU (1) and 3 million euros to rehabilitate houses and therefore reclaim abandoned land. » As technicians from the Toulouse agency Toponymy point out in their diagnosis, revitalizing urban centers, both in the city and in the villages, poses a great challenge (2).
Vertical living space… but not too much
Especially considering that elected officials are counting on the arrival of new residents in connection with the announcement of the creation of 2,000 jobs in the Lacq basin. “So more housing will be needed, but will it be vertical because there will be less land? asked one participant. Jean-Marie Bergeret-Tercq, mayor of Artix and CCLO’s deputy head of urban planning, responded: “The state tells us: if a city improves in height, not width, we are fine. Apart from that, there is a lot of rural areas here and I don’t see myself building a 30-storey building in Baigts! »
On the other hand, he gives an example from his own town: “I had two large farms in the city center. A couple lived there; I now have five places to stay. And we have big houses everywhere that we no longer need, so we can turn them into human-scale buildings. » The diagnosis actually shows that in 2020, 80% of main residences had more than 4 rooms, while households consisted of an average of 2.1 people. “We can also build others in municipalities where there are already buildings with several floors, such as Mourenx, Orthez or Artix. »
But the executive is concerned about labor shortages: “Business leaders can’t hire locally. So employees will come from elsewhere. We intend to respect what the Government has said today, which is to come home and bring work closer together. But we don’t want to be playful with people who live 40, 50 kilometers away, come to work and leave the house. Therefore, we want to fix these populations: for this we need housing and therefore land. » This is the reason for the ongoing negotiations with the governor’s office to obtain more land.
“Villages are over”
Another question sheds light on important issues: “You say that you will reduce the surface area of the land. There is no mass cleaning where I live. Do you have anything planned for these communities? » The elected official in urban planning stated: “There are other methods other than non-mass cleaning that covers 1,500 or 2,000 square meters of land. For example, a microelectric power plant that can be installed in three or four homes.
We do not yet know how the state will handle this issue. Because in Orthez, new housing in the city center may be 200 m², while in a small town without public sanitation it may be 1,500 m². But this will no longer be possible: not because it is buildable, not because there is space, not because there are no restrictions. Mayors here know this very well; You have a district center and a hamlet two kilometers away. The state does not want this anymore; hamlets are finished. Because this means two kilometers of pipes, cables, roads, etc. means. There is no more money for this. We need to concentrate or move away from the city center. “
(1) Planned housing improvement operation-Urban renewal. (2) www.cc-lacqorthez.fr/fileadmin/documents/Urbanisme/Reunion_publique_oct2023.pdf
RAIN: how can I join?
The public is invited to participate in the ongoing development of the Local Intercommunal Urban Plan (PLUI) by submitting their observations in paper records to the receptions of the Community of communes in Mourenx and Orthez. You can also do this by sending an e-mail to: keretasyon.pluicc-lacqorthez.fr. Or by post: Hôtel de la Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez, Rond-point des Chênes – BP 73 64 150 Mourenx. The project will be subject to public inquiry in 2024 and will be stopped at the end of the year, will be submitted for approval at the end of 2025 and will then be implemented for 10-15 years.