But where did Castets’ artificial wave project go? Mentioned since 2018, this was to give birth to the “first surf park in the European Union, at the start of 2024”. The project was simple, but ambitious: the creation of a pool of 27,000 m3 of water combined with a propulsion mechanism to create up to 900 waves per hour. All surrounded by outdoor sports areas and a surf camp (top-of-the-range campsite). Enough to make the many practitioners in the region salivate.
But the project quickly raises questions and attracts the wrath of many associations which launch a petition which will collect up to 20,000 signatories in the space of a week. Today, it is clear that it should, at least, not meet its deadlines. “For me, this project is dead, it no longer exists,” says Jacques Lajuncomme, president of the French Surfing Federation.
A wave pool less than 25 km from the ocean
If he did not respond to requests from 20 Minutes, in an article by South West Norbert Ducrot evokes an “impossibility, for the moment” to carry out this one. Jacques Lajuncomme is more pessimistic: “First, I wonder about the interest of an artificial wave in Castets, a few kilometers from the ocean and the beaches of the Landes. I understand that we can say that it is a region that concentrates a lot of practitioners, but a large number of them are already surfing in the ocean and a certain number will not have the means to pay for sessions in artificial waves. »
Elected president of the Federation in 2021, he denies having made an “about-face” and recognizes “the sporting interest” of such structures, even if he is not ready to defend these projects “at any price “. “Our approach was very transparent, explains the Dacquois. We asked Norbert Ducrot to provide us with an environmental impact study and a Natura2000 impact plan. Indeed, less than 100 meters from the site chosen for the construction is a stream classified Natura 2000 and two protected species: the two-banded lizard and the pitchou warbler.
However, Jacques Lajuncomme explains that he did not receive the “necessary guarantees” from the project leader. “There was just nothing, it was just a single page. We saw marked “the first green wave in the world”, but it’s as if I were saying that I was the “best president of the federation”. It does not mean anything. »
“It is a defect of town planning”
In addition to environmental issues, the construction of the Castets wave park raises questions about its legitimacy and its respect for the Local Town Planning Plan of the Landes commune. Indeed, according to Steve Lebel, the project led by Norbert Ducrot would not meet the conditions of the land use plan.
“In these plots, the local urban plan accepts commercial, industrial, hotel accommodation, office and warehouse activities, lists the member of Synapse Crew Europe. But it is not indicated that we can make a leisure and sports area on this space. So they don’t have the right to build, it’s a town planning flaw. They should have changed the PLU or the mayor should have directed the project leader to another plot. »
Contacted, the town hall of Castets did not respond to our requests, but 20 minutes was able to consult the PLU of the town hall of Castets. The possibility of building a leisure and sports area does not appear in this one.
China as a stirrup?
Steven Lebel adds: “The truth is that we have a man who is alone, we saw him on the project, everyone was leaving. He never managed to complete the financing. Not because of the Covid, but because, in France, investors are more and more careful about the environmental impact of what they finance. »
So, Norbert Ducrot said he was now turning to China to bring four artificial wave pool projects out of the ground. But here again, Steven Lebel seems to have trouble believing the former “super-commercial” of Airbus Helicopters: “Concretely, his idea is to use China as a springboard to then attract investment for Castets. We are in regular contact with manufacturers who tell us that they do not want to go there. So even though they’re going to be required to do so by trade law, they don’t want their technology stolen. In the meantime, surfers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine will still be able to cross the dunes to jump into the water.