France/ In the Eure department, this commune has defined its planning and sustainable development projects.

The municipality of Saint-Marcel (Eure) presented its sustainable development plan (PADD) at a public meeting on Wednesday September 11, 2024.

Work on revising the local urban development plan (PLU)* continues in Saint-Marcel (Eure). After presenting the diagnosis of the town last May, the municipality organized a new meeting on Wednesday September 11, 2024 to present its sustainable development project (PADD).

This project is based on three key points:

• Saint-Marcel, a town of human scale and solidarity;
• Saint-Marcel, a living and economic hub;
• Saint-Marcel, a commune committed to preserving its natural resources and living environment.

The plan of attack is obviously based on the diagnosis made in May: "Saint-Marcel is a commune with a varied heritage, both rural and urban, with a demographic trend that has tended towards a slight decline since 1999".

Controlling urban development

The municipality now wishes to : manage urban development while respecting the major territorial balances; reverse the demographic trend to enable Saint-Marcel to welcome new residents in line with its potential; guarantee the production of an attractive housing offer for all generations and continue to protect and enhance the heritage and landscape features that make up Saint-Marcel's identity.

Accompanied by VE2A, the town of Saint-Marcel has put forward a number of ideas for the new PLU.

With a view to "urban renewal", the town is proposing to develop its land by remobilizing the Cosec and supporting the Seine Normandie Agglomération project on the former soccer pitch. In this way, urban development is framed by the use of already urbanized areas.

Attracting families

Indeed, building new housing is essential if the town is to welcome new inhabitants (a target set at 600 additional inhabitants compared with 2020, i.e. around 5,000 inhabitants by 2036). "We're aiming for 5,000 inhabitants because we have the infrastructure to accommodate them," emphasizes Saint-Marcel mayor Hervé Podraza, interviewed after the meeting.

With this in mind, the commune knows that it needs to build new housing (42 per year).

We don't have any real supply for first-time buyers, young families or the elderly who want to move out of their large homes. There's a mechanical effect: if we have smaller units, first-time buyers can move in, and seniors can move in too, freeing up larger units. This leaves more room for larger families.

Hervé Podraza, mayor of Saint-Marcel

On the economic and lifestyle front, the municipality intends to bolster the commercial hub and manage its development (strengthening the town center and targeting economic development in the du Marcel zone).economic development on the Virolet zone, limiting the commercial development already over-represented in the area).

Environment

It is also essential to safeguard Saint-Marcel's agricultural vocation (the hippodrome area should be returned to agricultural or natural use in order to contribute to the goal of zero net artificial development), to develop tourism on a multi-scale, and to maintain the level of municipal amenities.

Finally, the town wishes to focus on environmental preservation, with four objectives:

• Promote respect for natural environments, nature in the city and water resources;
• Ensuring that urban development takes account of local risks and nuisances;
• Promote a mode of development that integrates the challenges of ecological transition;
• Ease mobility in the region by promoting multimodality on a daily basis.

A number of examples were given, such as projects to redevelop certain areas (Virolet, industrial wasteland) to integrate plants, or to renovate and rehabilitate service sector buildings and encourage the use of green spaces.and encourage pedestrian mobility, car-sharing and public transport to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

This PADD will now have to be voted on in autumn 2024, before moving on to the next stage in the revision of the PLU: that of drafting the regulatory framework.

As a reminder, residents are still invited to make comments and observations on the modification of the PLU. A notebook is available at the town hall, and a dedicated e-mail address is also available (urbanisme@marcel27.fr). "We have received some fifteen observations", says Hervé Podraza, the commune's mayor.

Source: actu.fr/normandie/