Toulouse Métropole: the cancellation of the Urban Plan carried out by the Court of Appeal
The Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal confirmed the cancellation of the Toulouse Métropole local urban plan. The old planning documents apply pending a new PLUiH.
The cancellation of the local urban plan of the 37 municipalities of Toulouse Métropole by the administrative court on March 30, 2021 was made effective by the administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux by a judgment of this Tuesday, February 15. A decision which should be notified this Friday, February 18. Barring an unlikely appeal by the Metropolis before the Council of State, this key document of urban planning, which sets the rules for constructability but also the production of housing, is now definitively buried.
The decision of the magistrates is without surprise. On January 18, during the hearing, the public rapporteur asked for confirmation of the cancellation. Above all, he had taken up point by point the arguments developed by the judges at first instance. In summary, the calculation of the consumption of natural areas had been called into question and the obligation imposed by law to use these lands less was considered not to have been respected. His opinion was taken up by the magistrates.
The judgment of first instance had raised a strong protest from the Metropolis which had argued the decline in constructability yet obtained in a greener PLU than the previous documents. The president of the Metropolis, Jean-Luc Moudenc, even attacked the magistrates of the training.
New constraints
Without waiting, Toulouse Métropole voted last February 10 to launch the development of the new PLUiH. The objective is to be implemented on January 1, 2025. Until then, the PLU and POS of each municipality prevail. The president of the Metropolis, Jean-Luc Moudenc, said he wanted to obtain from promoters and builders, through negotiation, that they respect the rules which had been enacted during the first PLU.
What is new is the entry into force of the Climate and Resilience Law of August 2021 which imposes a target of zero net artificialisation of natural land by 2050. This amounts to toughening the fight against urban sprawl but constitutes a serious difficulty in municipalities facing strong demographic pressure.