2023-09-11 13:54:33
The government launched on Monday a call for projects with a budget of 24 million euros to support the transformation of around twenty commercial zones located at the entrance to towns, symbols of “peripheral France” and the snacking of farming lands. “These zones are in many ways the incarnation of the twentieth century: that of mass consumption, that of automobiles for all, that of pavilions for everyone,” declared the Minister Delegate in charge of SMEs, trade and Olivia Grégoire craftsmanship.
Commercial areas concentrate 72% of French spending
Symbol of what some observers call “ugly France”, these zones, numbering 1,500 to 1,800, are characterized by wide roads lined with panels, with facades generally made of sheet metal and surrounded by large parking lots. For traders too, this model has long been “a form of El Dorado”, recognized the minister, with stores built sixty years ago “on inexpensive agricultural land, cubic shoe boxes built at low cost” .
Even today, they account for 72% of French spending. But in a world “which is becoming aware of its limits, the commercial zone has reached its limits,” said the minister. “We have major ecological issues, namely how we avoid having buildings that are thermal sieves,” declared for his part the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu, who hopes to halve the current deadlines for redeveloping these areas. “It is not primarily a problem of money. What is blocking today are the regulations, the deadlines, the authorization procedures,” he admitted.
Two waves of winners designated at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024
Concretely, project leaders will have to contact the prefectures, who will carry out a pre-selection of the files. The envelope of 24 million euros should make it possible to finance preliminary studies and recruit a project manager. The Green Industry bill, under discussion in Parliament, should also remove certain regulatory blockages, by making it possible, for example, to deviate from the local urban planning plan (PLU) or to reduce deadlines. Two waves of winners will be designated, in November 2023 and early 2024.
However, there is no question of applying the same transformation model, each zone being different. Thus, a dynamic commercial zone in an urban environment can be densified and make way for housing, while a neglected area can be “renatured”, or even accommodate industrial activity when it is located in a sparsely populated area. . The government had already announced last fall the extension to city entrances of act 2 of Action Coeur de Ville (ACV), a program which only concerns medium-sized towns.
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