Since DS EVENTS obtained the public service delegation (DSP) for the operation of the Albi circuit in 2015, the standards have changed three times resulting in enormous restrictions and constraints including a reduction of 80 driving days per year, the weekend. The Circuit has requested two studies from the CONSEIL POLYEXPERT ENVIRONNEMENT office on the acoustic and environmental impact of the activity of the circuit in order to assess the appropriate solutions to be implemented.
The report on the sound evolution shows a decrease between 2020 and 2019 of 25 to 30% of emergences out of competition, the number of sound events above 65 dB is 35 occurrences in 2019, against 17, in 2020. Sound emergences greater than 20 dB (i.e. the noise made by the circuit in addition to the normal noise) are also decreasing out of competition (13 occurrences in 2019 against 2 in 2020).
Despite major works including the construction of a noise barrier completed in December 2020 and an investment of more than € 800,000 made by the company since 2015 to restore a public good in perfect working order which will eventually return to the town hall of Albi and therefore to the Albigensians, two houses located near the north bend remain exposed to sound emergencies of more than 5 decibels. The other residents formed in association (ARAS) are not, or little, exposed to these sound emergence overruns thanks in particular to a mound of 5000 m2 of land.
40 of these residents therefore have “no interest in acting” in the legal sense of the term!
However, a sentence to pay a fine and damages to the Town Hall of the Receiver and to the ARAS, was pronounced in first instance by the Police Court of Albi even before the completion of the wall. DS EVENTS has appealed and the case will be heard by the Toulouse Court of Appeal in November 2021.
What is likely to happen on July 12 in the Tarn?
The history of the Albi autodrome, which began in 1962, could suddenly come to an end without any other form of trial, by a simple administrative closure decision. Despite the construction of a noise barrier in December 2020 and a relatively low noise emergence which now only concerns two dwellings out of the 44 residents who had formed an association (ARAS). Under the guise of public health, the most die-hards seek to put an end to the activity of the circuit while several national events are on the calendar generating substantial benefits for the territory. However, we can affirm it, the circuit of Albi succeeded in conforming to the ministerial decree of homologation, however the most restrictive of France.
Why would the abrupt end of the Circuit d’Albi activity be nonsense for the local economy?
The Circuit d’Albi is a major economic center of attraction for the region. With the organization of several events including the French championships, it generates a total attendance of 90,000 visitors per year. The direct and indirect economic benefits are estimated at nine million euros. An associative fabric of 900 members with four resident associations (Asa auto, Motoclub, Doctors, Volunteers), giving full meaning to the delegation of public service granted by the City, benefits from this activity center.
Came in reinforcement of the Association of support of the circuit, more than 44,360 people signed a petition deposited on “change.org” to save the circuit of Albi.
The leisure activity of the circuit ensures the maintenance, the development and the upgrading of the complex, and this without subsidy. Two local companies at the forefront of new carbon-free mobility have signed an agreement with the operator of the DS EVENTS circuit to use the tracks as part of their tests at prices that guarantee their international competitiveness.
- SAFRA specializes in the manufacture and marketing of a range of electric and hydrogen buses, under the Businova brand.
- EVEER’HY’PÔLE, founded in 2009, a pioneer in France to operate a hydrogen service station. Today, the company provides services, assistance and resources to project leaders working in the fields of hydrogen mobility.
The town hall of Albi, owner of the circuit and delegating its operation to DS EVENTS, approved in the municipal council, on June 15, the creation of a SEM to support the constitution of a European Center for new mobilities which gives new development prospects for this equipment. This project is structured around three major axes which precisely meet the expectations of the State and of Europe:
- Hosting road tests to allow manufacturers of low-carbon vehicles to carry out tests and be supported towards certification.
- The training of professionals and future professionals in the new professions of these new forms of mobility, and in particular the hydrogen sector.
- – Support for all French or foreign manufacturers who want to create fixed installations for the production or distribution of hydrogen,
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Is a way out of the crisis possible?
The active and tangible transition initiated by DS EVENTS should be taken into account by the local authorities, who are responsible. The formal notice from the town hall of the Receiver to cease all activity, two months ago, clearly endangers the Albi circuit, which assumes all financial commitments, technical investments and site maintenance.
It is an essential tool without which the future pole of excellence for heavy carbon-free mobility (heavy goods vehicles, buses, etc.) cannot exist. To do without this future of the Albi circuit carried by the City of Albi and supported by the department and the Region would be incomprehensible.
The people in charge of DS EVENTS have decided several weeks ago not to take new reservations and have unscheduled events; the month of July is therefore limited to days for which it could not be possible to deprogram.
They are committed to drastically restricting the scope of activities to allow motor racing to survive and that, in the near future, a new history of the circuit will be written, which has always been able to adapt to technological developments.
In a country that is gradually emerging from the economic crisis linked to the pandemic, it is desirable that the authorities act in a spirit of conciliation by preserving the dozens of direct and induced jobs by the circuit and the millions of euros in economic benefits for the territory for which they are responsible.
Communicated
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