France/ Fresnay-sur-Sarthe. "This mayor-prefect partnership is above all a team effort".

On Wednesday afternoon, local elected representatives from the Communauté de communes Haute Sarthe Alpes mancelles (CCHSAM) met at the Salle Gilbert Chauveau in Fresnay-sur-Sarthe to sign the Opération de Revitalisation du Territoire (ORT) agreement, in the presence of the sous-préfet of the Mamers district, Quentin Spooner.

In 2020, the town of Fresnay-sur-Sarthe signed up for the scheme, and in 2023, the town of Beaumont-sur-Sarthe will follow suit.

A scheme to support small towns

The Petites Villes de Demain (PVD) scheme was set up by the French government to support towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, which have central functions, as well as their inter-communal bodies, in the development of their projects. The communes have each drawn up their own project, defining the actions they wish to take, and the CCHSAM is only involved in the Pacte Territorial France Rénov component. There can only be one ORT agreement per intermunicipal territory," explains Philippe Martin, President of the Communauté de communes.

An agreement for better support

The principle of this agreement is based on an upstream diagnosis of the territory. The objectives are broken down into action plans that affect the daily lives of local residents, such as new services or improvements to quality of life. The revitalization of town centers and the reinforcement of the centralities of the community of communes are necessary. This mayor-prefect partnership is first and foremost a team effort," says Quentin Spooner, sub-prefect of the Mamers district.

This agreement enables us to carry out project studies at lower cost, obtain reduced-rate loans or even a larger DETR (Dotation d'Équipement des Territoires Ruraux) grant. It's also an asset for tourism. The town of Fresnay-sur-Sarthe benefited from this scheme for the chain ferry project and the two hikers' cabins at the municipal campsite. Currently, the renovation of the former school restaurant into a social center is also part of the agreement, notes Fabienne Labrette Ménager, the town's mayor.

The town of Beaumont-sur-Sarthe, which entered the agreement later, is in the study phase for a project to reorganize the Place Dufour, planting vegetation on the site while preserving parking facilities. The construction of a cultural complex (library, games library) and the renovation and expansion of the Centre Social are also in the pipeline, announces Léa Duval, mayor of Beaumont-sur-Sarthe.

Source: www.ouest-france.fr/