“It’s good news to start the year”, immediately believes the Dreux Seveso Non collective. The discontent of residents and the vote of the municipal councils got the better of FM Logistic’s giant warehouse project in Vernouillet, near Dreux (Eure-et-Loir). However, this project, which provides for more than 150 jobs, has not been abandoned.
“We are resizing it to take into account the questions raised during the public inquiry, and to meet the demands of local authorities and state services,” a company spokesperson told the “Parisian”.
Main change: the classification of the site as a high-threshold Seveso risk is replaced by a simple authorization to operate. The maximum risk classification was mandatory because of the planned storage of hygiene products, such as sprays, or even perfumes. “We diversify customers by mixing with food and consumer products”, assures the same source.
There are still some concerns
FM Logistic is also reducing the land footprint from around 16 to 12 ha, and construction will be reduced from 70,000 to 45,000 m2.
“It’s smart on the part of the company. The project is revised just before the investigating commissioner delivers his file and his opinion, which we expected before the end of January and which we will therefore never know ”, underlines Éric Lapouge, member of the Dreux Seveso No collective, including the petition on change.org gathered more than 2,100 signatories.
“This announcement avoids a political cacophony, since the council of the agglomeration of Dreux had voted for, while 9 municipal councils voted once morest,” he continues.
Even if local elected officials, including the mayor of Dreux Pierre-Frédéric Billet, and the collective say they are relieved, there are still some concerns. “The water table is only 5 m deep,” says Éric Lapouge.
Another sensitive point: traffic. The Vernouillet business area is served by two ring roads, east and west, which connect it to the RN 154 Chartres-Dreux and the RN 12 Paris-Dreux-Evreux. “The two axes are already saturated for several hours a day,” recalls the collective.
On the side of FM Logistic, we anticipate announcements on “the improvement of the road service, which is an essential element to the success of the project”, admits the company. It remains to be seen what improvements these are.
