The request to suspend the felling of 16 plane trees in Bellegarde in the Gard was deemed inadmissible by the administrative court of Nîmes. It was presented by the ARBRES association
The members of the ARBRES association have challenged a municipal decree of the town of Bellegarde located on the borders of the Gard and the Bouches-du-Rhône. The town hall had authorized the felling of 16 centuries-old plane trees.
Alerted by a local resident, the association had demonstrated against these massacres and presented a provisional appeal before the administrative court of Nîmes to invalidate the decree issued by the mayor. The association argued that article 350-3 of the environmental code was not respected and denounced the lack of information from the municipality.
The request to suspend the felling was deemed inadmissible, primarily because the 16 trees were felled between October 30 and November 2, according to the order issued by the judge in the council chamber of the administrative court of Nîmes this Friday. November 4, 2022, therefore before the examination of the application.
Furthermore, for the judge, with this request, ARBRES – also called “association responsible for the well-being and respect for the environment in Nîmes les Gardiens” – goes beyond the scope defined by its statutes, but also from its geographical scope. The association must limit its actions to the community of agglomerations of Nîmes Métropole. However, the city of Bellegarde, located about twenty kilometers from Nîmes, is not part of this territory. Thereby, “the association has no interest in acting”ruled the court.
For the mayor there was danger because of their condition. According to a 2005 health study, 70% of the trees planted 110 years ago were already in poor condition. The association recognizes this, but regrets the absence of recent reports. Before the administrative judge, the request for suspension of the slaughter already completed was therefore considered inadmissible.
The municipality of Bellegarde plans to replant as many lime trees and hackberry trees by the end of the month
