On May 25, the Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal confirmed the cancellation of the building permit for the Val Tolosa project, the third issued in this mega shopping center file which was to see the light of day on the plateau of La Ménude, in Plaisance. -du-Touch. For his opponentsthis umpteenth legal victory sounded the death knell for what he considers a symbol of “unnecessary big projects”.
Its promoter Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, who embarked on the adventure in 2003 before being targeted by numerous appeals, also seemed to have drawn a line under the creation of this large area and 150 brands out of nearly 90,000 m2 located on a plateau of more than 40 hectares. However, he has not given up on the tens of millions he has invested in studies and other investments in the field.
187 million euros claimed from each
PCE, its subsidiary, now has to file an appeal against the State and the communities before the administrative court of Toulouse. In his viewfinder, the town hall of Plaisance-du-Touch, the departmental council of Haute-Garonne, the prefect of Haute-Garonne, the Greater West Toulouse community of municipalities and the Joint Syndicate of Studies of the Toulouse conurbation reveals The Midi Dispatch.
“PCE confirms that it has taken action against the public authorities to obtain compensation following the impossibility of carrying out the development of the “ZAC des Portes de Gascogne” and the Val Tolosa project, even though they were community initiative and were part of their strategy to create an economic development center on the plateau of La Ménude. It thus intends to be compensated for the sums committed since 2003 for this project which now appears to be irreparably compromised”, confirms a Unibail spokesperson to 20 minutes. He reproaches them for not having respected the urban plans or for having created certain access roads, making the creation of the shopping center impossible.
He claims from each community, as well as from the State, a sum of 187 million euros, the equivalent of two Téléo cable cars. Multiplied by the number of entities targeted, the amount approaches one billion euros. However, some of these entities are not spared to see this project succeed, whether it is the town hall, which issued the permits and supported Val Tolosa for years, or the prefecture which regularly issued authorizations for the destruction of species protected. The current mayor of Plaisance, Philippe Guyot, even chaired the association “Yes to Val Tolosa”, a supporter of the installation of this equipment in his town.
A remedy that sounds a bit like a betrayal for those who have accompanied Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield for more than a decade, even if it means being the target of strong criticism from environmental defenders. “After having been dismissed by the courts on multiple occasions and noting that its project cannot be carried out, the developer Unibail is now turning against the State services and the local authorities. Since the beginning of this project twenty years ago, the Department has kept the commitments made. The departmental council disputes any responsibility for the failure of the project and will put forward all the arguments before the judge”, reacted the departmental council of Haute-Garonne. The prefecture does not comment on “a legal procedure which is in progress” and the mayor of Plaisance did not respond to our request.
The administrative court, which thought it might have finished with Val Tolosa, will have to look again at this file in the coming months.