According to the member Eric Bothorel, the Armorican Navigation Company decided to final judgment of the mining work on the concession of shellfish sands which serve to amend the agricultural land to reduce their acidity.
This time it’s over. The Shell Sand Extraction Project in Lannion Bay (Côtes-d’Armor), subject to strong local opposition for ten years, was definitely abandoned by its operator, the Armorican Navigation Company (CAN). The shell sand is a limestone sand composed of shell debris, which serves to amend farmland to reduce their acidity.
“On 4 November last, the Armorican Navigation Company declared to the Prefect of Finistère the final judgment of the mining works on the concession of sandy sands called” Pointe d’Armor “in the Bay of Lannion”, announced in a PRESS RELEASE ERIC BOTHOREL, MP Côtes-d’Armor (the Republic in March) . “It’s a decision of reason, it was necessary to get out of this file from the top,” he told the France-Presse agency.
Prosed in 2010 by the CAN, a subsidiary of the Roulier Group, this project is the subject of a broad opposition from the elected part, environmental associations and groupings of professionals of the region, among which the fishermen.
The People of the Trégor, Collective Dunes, which brings together dozens of associations, denounced in particular a project located “between two Natura 2000 zones”, whose impact on the environment, fauna, flora, and the job was not evaluated.
“This folder is definitely closed. It’s a victory a bit by K.-o. Because they are abandoning, we are very satisfied because we have been fighting since 2010. It’s a decision of wisdom since 2010. Because, from the start, the file was sloppy, “said Alain Bidal, president of the collective of opponents.
Decree signed in 2015, obsolete concession in 2016
In September 2015, Emmanuel Macron, then Minister of the Economy, had Signed a decree authorizing the extraction of shell sand in a Lannion Bay. A concession had been granted for a period of fifteen years with a volume of extraction limited to 250,000 cubic meters per year, compared to 400,000 initially envisaged. The area concerned – an indispensable submarine dune, according to fishing professionals – represents an area of 4 square kilometers.
Shortly after, the prefects of the ribs-of Armor and Finistère had published in December decrees allowing the opening of the work, an authorization that was to be renewed each year.
The prefects that have not renewed these arrested in November 2016 for lack of impact studies, the concession is, in fact, become obsolete, reminds Alain Bidal. Since 2015, several events have been held against this project, bringing together up to nearly 7,000 people.