Paris (AFP)

The Pierre et Vacances group announced on Wednesday the abandonment of its Center Parcs domain project in Roybon (Isère), blocked by multiple appeals and endless legal proceedings since its launch in 2007, and whose land is occupied by " zadists ".

The project, worth 390 million euros, provided for the construction in the Chambaran forest of a thousand cottages, shops and restaurants around an aquatic area, in the form of a transparent bubble maintained at 29 degrees with swimming pools, slides and jacuzzis.

"For more than ten years, legal procedures contesting the administrative authorizations hindered the realization of the project. The authorization of clearing, essential to its realization, having lapsed, and the access of the site being blocked by + zadists + illegally occupying the land since 2014, Center Parcs has decided to withdraw from this project, "according to a group press release.

Pierre et Vacances-Center Parcs, which insists on its "commitment to responsible and sustainable tourism", highlights the fact that the domain project "has received constant support from all local authorities for its environmental qualities, its benefits in terms of jobs and income, and its ability to revitalize and rebalance the territory. "

"The group is not happy" that the group throws in the towel, commented to AFP Gérard Brémond, president and founder of Pierre et Vacances, which to date has 25 Center Parcs in Europe, consisting of cottages immersed in forest fields.

"But we were at an impasse, it had become inextricable between the occupation of the site, changes in regulations, authorizations for building permits, for land clearing, the water law, the preservation of species, and the slowness of justice in the various stages, the court of appeal, the administrative court, the Council of State. All this was superimposed, it was interminable, "he summed up.

The appeals filed by opponents of the project - mainly associations for the protection of nature and the protection of the aquatic environment - have followed one another since 2010, in an alternation of setbacks and victories for Center Parcs.

- other confirmed projects -

Since 2014, the land has also become a "zone to defend" (ZAD), occupied by militants.

"We think it is better to reserve our intellectual and financial resources for other developments, we can very well succeed when the context is not as hostile," said Gérard Brémond.

The Pierre et Vacances group therefore wishes to "confirm" the development of its other Center Parcs projects on Wednesday.

Thus, in Europe, two new areas are being investigated in northern Germany and in Bavaria, and two other sites in the Berlin region are the subject of "negotiations and studies".

"A first project in Denmark is in the conceptual finalization phase, and two additional projects have been identified in Scandinavia", according to the press release.

These projects are accompanied by a renovation plan for existing areas, "with an investment envelope of almost 400 million euros financed by owner-lessors".

In France, the Landes de Gascogne area (Lot-et-Garonne) is due to open in the spring of 2022. "The project was very favorably received and supported by the local authorities as well as by the inhabitants and stakeholders in the environmental protection, "says the group.

Three other projects remain disputed in court or fought locally: the extension of the existing Bois-Francs domain (Eure), the Poligny project (Jura) which is the subject of legal appeals against the local urban plan, and the Rousset project (Saône-et-Loire) for which "we are talking and we will make proposals in the fall on improvements we are making", according to Mr. Brémond.

The CEO does not quantify the shortfall linked to the abandonment of the Roybon project, but insists that "there will be no impact on the group's cash flow".

© 2020 AFP