The concession for the port of Saint-Laurent-du-Var expires in 2025. It has been put back into play by the Métropole which, in agreement with the Laurentine municipality, wants to take advantage of it to build a port worthy of the 21st century.
More peaceful and free of cars. A project estimated at – at least – 18 million euros that risks disrupting the habits of users. There are nearly 180 of them, traders and boaters, who have grouped together in an association.
Although Avenir Port Saint-Laurent-du-Var does not contest the merits of such rehabilitation, the association is nevertheless demanding a certain number of clarifications which, for the time being, “do not appear, according to her, in the specifications” of the call for applications.
The renewal seems to be well advanced. Three applicants have been selected by the metropolitan services. A competitive bidding phase should be launched in September to decide between them. For an allocation at the end of the year or the beginning of next year.
What compensation for traders?
The construction of the new port of Saint-Laurent-du-Var will then be able to begin. Major works that could well penalize businesses and especially restaurants.
As a result, Christophe Tripodi, the president of the Avenir Port Saint-Laurent-du-Var association, is worried about the “economic consequences”. And he asks: “Nothing is provided for in the specifications concerning their compensation.
Will they be exempted from their rents? Will they be able to be compensated for the loss of earnings and the salaries that they will have to continue to pay without perhaps being able to work?”
What about parking?
Another point of contention is parking. “The town hall assured us that there will be no fewer parking spaces in the future port than in the old one,” reports the user representative. However, the project plans to pedestrianize the quays.
This will automatically lead to the removal of more than 200 parking spaces. They could be replaced in the multi-storey car park that will be built in place of the current gas station.
A distance from the parking areas which worries both boaters, who will have to walk with their equipment, and restaurateurs.If the port of Saint-Laurent works, it is precisely because it can be accessed by car.“, recalls Christophe Tripodi.
What are the rates for boaters?
It’s not just the parking of cars that will be turned upside down. The mooring areas for boats will also be redesigned.
And this time, 220 moorings are at risk of disappearing out of the current 1,086 berths. With two-thirds of them being the subject of a lease agreement, some boaters are therefore at risk of finding themselves high and dry and “forced to sell their boat due to lack of space”.
Others are wondering what they will be served with, especially since the duration of the succession has been set at 20 years and the winner will have to amortize it within this period. “We don’t know anything about the rates that will be charged,” laments Christophe Tripodi, who fears increases that some will not be able to afford. “Saint-Laurent-du-Var is not Cannes or Monaco. We are a working-class port and many boat owners are retired,” he reminds us.
Finally, the last cause for concern: the removal of the barrier that currently prevents onlookers from accessing the docks. It is planned as part of the renewal of the concession to open up the view of the sea. But it also means taking the risk of seeing acts of vandalism multiply in a port that has already experienced five boat fires in recent months.
