After almost two years of discussion, which was both professional and ideological, the conclusions were published on April 30, 2024 on the Reugny website. At the end of the public survey of the change of the spatial plan for the installation of the Da Vinci laboratories in Reugny, the investigating commissioner Jean-Pierre Viroulaud issued a favorable opinion.
Three matching reserves
The Investigating Commissioner, in his report, whose role is advisory, officially declares this project of a start-up incubator dedicated to disruptive technologies, to be installed on agricultural land, “as in the general interest” AND “brings the compatibility of the local spatial plan of the municipality of Reugny”.
This opinion is accompanied by three caveats. “As part of the environmental assessment that will be carried out at the time of the building permit, the project manager must add the skills of an association approved under the Environmental Act”First.
On the other hand, “The creation of a biodiversity observatory, whose functions will need to be clarified and expanded, needs to be considered in a sustainable way.” He adds that this observatory, which is supposed to measure the impact of building construction on the environment, also has to “monitor the implementation and effects of planned compensation measures, ensure their long-term evaluation and draw useful lessons for future projects. »
“A demo for the general public”
This is noted by the investigating commissioner “these reservations and recommendations also carry the idea that this technological innovation center must be a showcase for the general public (…) By displaying this educational component, from which the inhabitants of Reugna could be the first beneficiaries, the concept of general interest in the project can only be strengthened and facilitate its social acceptability. »
We remind you that within the framework of the public inquiry, which ended on March 15, 2024, around a hundred opinions were submitted. The municipal council is now invited to make a decision, after which the community of municipalities of Touraine-Est Vallées will have to decide. The prefect intervenes as part of the legality check.
“We have always said that we follow the procedure. As mayor, I will ask the municipal council to follow the opinion of the investigating commissioner, but everyone is free to vote”previously hinted Nicolas Toker, mayor of Reugny.
“Powder in the eyes”
The associations that are against the project are to blame. “We are disappointed”, admits Albine Lombard of the Earth Uprisings movement. Last February, in his press release entitled “Deforest to rule better” (signed with Greenpeace 37, Confédération paysanne 37, Extinction Rébellion, Grands-Parents pour le climat, La France insoumise 37 and Université populaire de la Terre) he condemned the transgressions of the Da Vinci project Labs.
“There was every reason for it not to happen, the project will destroy part of the green network, regrets Albine Lombard. We did not think of the interestingness of the project, but the location itself, where it is planned. »
The reservations expressed by the investigating commissioner are unlikely to appease groups opposed to Da Vinci Labs. “Every time a project is done, they tell us about the observatory, it makes us laugh! It’s a window treatment, we’ll ask the association to bird watch the remaining property, nothing more. »
Contacted project manager Xavier Aubry did not wish to speak in our columns.