This time it’s over. The shell sand extraction project in the bay of Lannion (Côtes-d’Armor), the object of strong local opposition for ten years, has been definitively abandoned by its operator, the Compagnie armoricaine de navigation (CAN). Shell sand is calcareous sand made up of shell debris, which is used to improve agricultural land to reduce its acidity.
“On November 4, the Compagnie armoricaine de navigation declared to the prefect of Finistère the definitive cessation of mining work on the concession of shelly sands known as “Peak d’Armor” in the Bay of Lannion »announced in a press release Eric Bothorel, MP for Côtes-d’Armor (La République en Marche). “It’s a decision of reason, we had to get out of this file from the top”he told Agence France-Presse.
Submitted in 2010 by the CAN, a subsidiary of the Roullier group, this project is the subject of widespread opposition from elected officials, environmental associations and groups of professionals in the region, including fishermen.
Le Peuple des dunes du Trégor, a collective that brings together dozens of associations, denounced in particular a project located “between two Natura 2000 areas”whose impact on the environment, fauna, flora and employment has not been assessed.
“This file is definitively closed. It’s a victory a bit by K.-O. because they are the ones who give up, we are very satisfied because we have been fighting since 2010. It is a wise decision because, from the start, the file was sloppy”declared Alain Bidal, president of the collective of opponents.
Decree signed in 2015, concession lapsed in 2016
In September 2015, Emmanuel Macron, then Minister of the Economy, had signed a decree authorizing the extraction of shell sand in the bay of Lannion. A concession had been granted for a period of fifteen years with an extraction volume limited to 250,000 cubic meters per year, against 400,000 initially envisaged. The area concerned – an indispensable underwater dune, according to fishing professionals – represents an area of 4 square kilometers.
Shortly after, the prefects of Côtes-d’Armor and Finistère had published decrees in December allowing the opening of the works, an authorization which had to be renewed each year.
The prefects having not renewed these decrees in November 2016 for lack of impact studies, the concession has, in fact, become obsolete, recalls Alain Bidal. Since 2015, several demonstrations had taken place against this project, bringing together up to nearly 7,000 people.