Toulouse. The residents of Borderouge are indignant about the biomass boiler project
By Clement Gruin
Published on
Pressure is mounting between the elected officials of the Métropole and the residents of the Borderouge district, who are worried about the project to set up a biomass boiler room alongside the railway line. This boiler room 8 megawattswith an auxiliary 20MW gas boiler, must supply the new heating network for the future ZAC Grand Matabiau-Quai d’Oc.
The location designated by Toulouse Métropole, 9 rue Ernest Renan, damaged disappear the skatepark and the BMX track who are there. “We are removing a meeting, socializing and leisure ground for young people in the neighborhood”, regrets the neighborhood.
Air quality concerns
But this location in the heart of the northern districts poses other problems in the eyes of local residents. The chosen site has 3000m², wedged between the railway tracks and rue Ernest Renan. Shops face it, with the first residences a few strides away and the Toulouse-Lautrec high school 200m away.
” It’s a cramped place, where the trucks will come two to three times a day, explains Serge Baggi, from the Minimes district committee. The reversal zone will be against the houses. ” Pierre Trautmann, the deputy in charge of public procurement, wants to reassure: “It represents one truck per day in summer, up to three in winter, it will have a low impact on traffic. »
“This site was chosen because it is located near the ZAC de Matabiau and the places that we want to serve”, details the Toulouse elected official. A letter from Toulouse Métropole to the inhabitants explains that they chose this location for its “proximity to the railway and industrial buildings”.
When the district mayor Maxime Boyer tells us that, we have the impression that he does not know his district.
A chimney of 30 meters
Added to these traffic problems is this 30m chimney and the fumes it must emit, from the combustion of woodchips and biodegradable waste. “We are told that the filters are effective, but beware: the filters are there to treat the fumes of what we are supposed to burn”, puts a guard a resident, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Because the visit to a similar installation in Blagnac showed that plywood and electrical sheaths, more harmful materials, were also incinerated there. “We are afraid of ending up with an incinerator that burns all the wood from the waste collection centers in the agglomeration. »
“In public meetings, our questions are evacuated with a lightness that I find disconcerting, laments Céline Lacroix, a resident of the district. I don’t know if the chosen ones are realizing that we are shaken. »
Residents offer alternatives
The Métropole’s call for tenders asks candidates to propose other locations. “Since we don’t see any other proposals, we submit alternative solutions ourselves, such as the wasteland near Atlanta Boulevard, explains Serge Baggi. But one can wonder if it is really up to us to make these proposals. »
The residents regret a complicated dialogue with elected officials. “There are really difficulties, while local residents will want to be consulted, regrets Serge Baggi. On an EU information meetings. We ask for consultation meetings, where all the subjects are on the table, and where we can possibly modify, marginally or in depth. »
Same dismay on the side of the traders who face the skatepark. “When we told them, they weren’t aware. They have landed. The future Toulouse-Lautrec metro stop, 150m away, should nevertheless make this place the heart of the district.
The call for tenders until March 29
“If it’s virtuous, this project can be done in the Grand Matabiau sector. And if it’s problematic, then it’s not a good idea to set it up in our heart of the neighborhood,” sums up a neighbor.
“We launched a call for tenders. Perhaps the candidate companies will find other solutions, we will know when we receive their proposals, ”says Pierre Trautmann. The neighborhood committee is organizing an information meeting this Tuesday, March 22 to allow local residents to exchange and discuss the terms of action.
Information meeting this Tuesday at 8:15 p.m., 41 avenue de Fronton (meeting room of the neighborhood committee).
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