An environmental association having filed an appeal against the construction of a golf course near Perpignan announced on Wednesday that it had taken administrative action, following the rejection of its request by the prefecture of Pyrénées-Orientales.
In this department heavily affected by drought, the Pays Catalan Ecologie association called at the end of April for the repeal of the declaration of public utility issued by the prefecture in 2019 to the Villeneuve-de-la-Raho golf course project.
Failure to respond within two months amounts to an implicit rejection, which gives the association the right to bring the case before the administrative court, the prefecture told AFP without giving further details.
We appealed to the administrative court. No responsible citizen can approve such a water-consuming installation while our department suffers from a lack of water. It’s an old world project, the president of Catalan Ecology Country, Jean Codogns, told AFP.
He thinks that administrative justice will vindicate the association, citing a similar project near Montpellier. In the name of preserving water resources, the prefect of Hérault issued an unfavorable opinion in May for an 18-hole golf course with luxury housing.
Mr. Codogns relies on this precedent in his argument and also points out that the Poitiers administrative court on Tuesday canceled water reservoir projects intended for agricultural irrigation, highlighting the inadequacy of the effects of climate change for Cancel .
Since April 2022, the level of precipitation has been abnormally low in the Pyrnes-Orientales, the department of France most affected by drought. Strong restrictions on water use are in force.
The construction site on the Villeneuve-de-la-Raho golf course, a town located 10 minutes from Perpignan, has not yet started. It plans to build an 18-hole golf course, a hotel with swimming pool and 600 housing units.
The LR mayor of Villeneuve-de-la-Raho, Jacqueline Irles, the originator of the project, highlights its economic usefulness and the fact that the town’s wastewater treatment plant would provide 90% of the complex’s water needs.
For her, golf is a green buffer to maintain quality of life and a beautiful environment, emphasizing that it is buildable land.