The defenders of the Gudin barracks have just won a battle in Montargis (Loiret).
The Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot opened a "historical monument classification body" for this military complex dating from the end of the 19th century.
"Surrounded by two other buildings which frame a Place d'Armes, the central pavilion known as the Clock is today threatened with demolition as part of a development project which would cause the barracks to lose its heritage and historical legibility. ", Said the minister in a press release Thursday.
Read also Montargis does not want the cumbersome remains of General of the Empire Gudin
The government thus agrees with the Sauvons Gudin collective and the SPPEF, a heritage protection society.
"We are finally going to be able to give our arguments on the necessary rescue of this emblematic place", explains Alphone Proffit, founder of the collective, which brought together nearly 800 signatories.
In Montargis, the Gudin barracks, which dates from the 19th century.
could be classified as a historical monument.
A demolition site was due to start this fall.
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The mayor denounces the "double talk" of the State
“Everything is sealed for a year,” laments Benoit Digeon, mayor (LR) of Montargis.
On the site, a serviced apartment building is to be built by the developer Nexity, who promises to demolish and then rebuild the facade of the Clock to the same.
The site, which represents a total investment of 20 million euros, was to start this fall.
The project is, in fact, suspended.
A serviced residence was to be built in place of the Gudin barracks by the developer Nexity, who promised to demolish and then rebuild the facade of the Clock as it was.
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For the mayor of the "Venice of Gâtinais", it is a hard blow carried by the services of the State.
“In 2008, the State got rid of the site by selling it to us for 750,000 euros.
The buildings were not maintained, real energy sieves.
A prefect even told me at the time that the Clock building had to be razed.
And today, another State service tells me that it is a historic monument of very great value, ”annoys Benoit Digeon.
The example of the Albi barracks
The local authority had estimated the cost of the thermal renovation at 14 million euros.
"Montargois taxpayers do not have the means to finance such an operation", assures Benoit Digeon.
For Alphonse Proffit, of the collective of defenders of the barracks, it is on the contrary an opportunity to prepare a large-scale project for the Gudin barracks, which includes several buildings and an esplanade. "The case of the Lapérouse barracks in Albi (Tarn) should serve as a model for us," he believes. Today it is a university campus which contributes to the attractiveness of the city. "
