A half-timbered building, here on Place du Champ-Jacquet, in Rennes.

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C. Allain / 20 Minutes

  • The Place du Champ-Jacquet is one of the emblematic places of the city of Rennes.

  • The square, famous for its half-timbered buildings, will be the subject of a redevelopment program.

  • In particular, it will get rid of the 600 buses that cross it every day.

It is surely one of the most “instagrammed” places in Rennes.

With its leaning timber-framed buildings, Place du Champ-Jacquet is part of the heritage of the Breton capital.

But for many inhabitants, its potential is still largely under-exploited.

Interviewed in 2019 by the TMO Régions institute as part of the Rennes 2030 consultation, the residents of Rennes found it "too mineral and too noisy".

It is true that 600 buses cross this axis every day, providing a link between the north of the city and the Place de la République.

In a few months, however, Place du Champ-Jacquet will regain some peace of mind.

Once metro line B is put into service, the entire bus network will indeed be turned upside down in the Breton capital.

From this summer, traffic will be lightened in the city center and all lines taking rue d'Antrain, place du Champ-Jacquet and rue de l'Horloge will be diverted to rue du Général Maurice-Guillaudot which runs along the Thabor and the regional prefecture.

A consultation will open at the end of spring

Once the buses have been removed, Place du Champ-Jacquet will therefore be handed over to pedestrians and cyclists and will be the subject of a greening program.

The elected officials, who mentioned the project Monday evening to the city council, hope to strengthen the tourist dimension of the places "by revealing all its potential, in particular its built heritage", underlines Marc Hervé, first deputy in charge of town planning.

Wedged between the terraces and the buses, the statue of Jean Leperdit, mayor of Rennes from February 1794 to October 1795, should in particular be enhanced.

By then, a consultation phase will open at the end of spring to gather the opinion of the population before the start of the works scheduled for 2022. The cost of the operation amounts to nearly 1.4 million euros.

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