Symbol of a nature between dunes and beaches, bewitching all its visitors, it has in spite of itself, known many evolutions lately. At the dawn of a devastation of the seaboard? Or an unprecedented renewal? The president of the association “Managers of Pampelonne Beach” and owner of “Cabane Bambou”, Jacques Naveau, explains the situation to us, no matter if it is a committed position.
CHANGES AND OBLIGATIONS
“Among some of the main changes, we went from 27 to 23 lots of beach facilities consisting of 8 reversible lot concessions and 15 lot removable facility concessions, one of which was unsuccessful and one for which a call for tenders is to be renewed. The distinguishing feature of the 8 reversible lots is that it is to be positioned partly on the communal public domain (CPD) and the other part on the maritime public domain (MPD). Namely, on the CPD a reversible facility is allowed to be built without having to be dismantled during the term of the concession which is 12 years. However, the specific nature of a reversible facility is that if it were to be dismantled one day, the land on which it was built should return to its original state. This is also why nothing is built using concrete. For the same lot, a small demountable infrastructure is allowed to be installed on the MPD from March without exceeding 30m2 and with the obligation to be disassembled in October. It should be known that reversible facilities are required to be open for a minimum period of 10 months, which may be of interest to customers who like to come out of season.
Other type of beaches are said to be removable, beach facilities that are completely on the MPD. They are subject to other constraints which are far from insignificant. During the term of their 12-year concession, each year, operators are allowed to install their removable facilities from March which have to be completely dismantled by 31st October at the latest to make the space available. This coming and going of removable facilities is still a paradox of this management scheme imposed by the government, namely the carbon impact on our environment with every manoeuvre of heavy machinery to install and dismantle each year dozens of modules that form a removable beach lot and not to mention the difficulty to find a storage place that can be found tens of kilometres away from the beach. I think we still need to work on these constraints and find the best solutions to lessen their impact.”
OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATION
“Today Pampelonne, after all this upheaval, is trying to recover its natural state. The beach is getting back to normal. There had to be change, it was obvious. The only controversy surrounding the government’s decision to enforce strict coastal legislation was justified by the fact that we did not want to lose the number of existing facilities. This could have a social and economic impact in the Gulf if only due to a loss of jobs. We were not against the scheme, we wanted to change it because the government needs to respect the diversity of every region’s unique qualities that makes France so fascinating. Now we must put an end to all this controversy. It’s the past that makes us who we are today. It’s today that we must start building for tomorrow while protecting our environment. And it’s by respecting this development scheme that we can begin to appreciate the new visual aspect of the environment which will once again make Pampelonne beach a model beach on an international level.
There has been a huge investment from all the economic players who have won awards after the reallocation of concessions in 2018. Pampelonne will be different than before, but in a good way. You just have to give it a little time for everything to ripen, for everything to return to its natural state. Overall, I honestly think it’s going to be a success.”
ECONOMY, TOURISM AND CHALLENGES
“After these large investments, each of us will apply our own economic policy according to various criteria to maximise our interests. We are not philanthropists, we are here to offer a quality service in a remarkable environment. In fact, this scheme has forced us to surpass ourselves in terms of infrastructure, architecture as well as technically and aesthetically. Of course, there are still plenty of ‘little tricks’ to adopt over time. Pampelonne was not built in a day but already after four months we can see it starting to bear fruit.
The problem we have had for years is the lack of housing structure needed to accommodate qualified staff. It would be wise, in the interest of everyone and with the support of the community of communes, that we manage to find a solution to this recurring issue. Given that the bathing establishments are open 10 months in the year, it would be helpful if all the economic actors concerned helped introduce customers in order to see a new economic dynamic in our region. Our department has tourist potential, which would be a shame not to exploit throughout the whole year.”
Ultimately, if politicians are often accused of inaction and the French accused of not being open to change, the metamorphosis of the Pampelonne beach is almost a perfect illustration of a group effort in the interests of the public. As a global example of economically sustainable and environmentally friendly transformation, Pampelonne is now back on its feet. It is entering the 21st century by responding ambitiously to the tough challenges of our generation. It now only needs other economic players to follow suit, and visitors to witness the rebirth of the myth of Pampelonne for themselves.
