A controversial 1200 cattle farm project in Vienne, the subject of several appeals by opponents in recent years, received the green light from the administrative justice on Tuesday, which validated previously canceled construction and operating permits.
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In a case with twists and turns, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux annulled a 2017 judgment of the Poitiers administrative court, which had invalidated the building permits (buildings, an anaerobic digestion plant and a photovoltaic structure) and the operating license, issued in 2015 and 2016. Operator and manufacturer appealed.
The project for a fattening center for 1,200 bull calves in Coussay-les-Bois, near Châtellerault, arouses local opposition, including that of the mayor of Coussay, environmental defenders, organic farmers, arguing the risk on the water table, and opposed to a "
farm-factory
" for them symbol of the industrialization of agriculture.
The Administrative Court of Appeal followed the conclusions of the public rapporteur who, at the hearing on December 15, considered that the 2017 judgments should be annulled, as well as a decision of the Vienne prefecture of July 2020 , who had refused to regularize the initial authorization.
The prefecture then considered that the additional elements provided did not alleviate the doubts raised in a judgment at the end of 2019 of the same Court of Appeal, which had granted a stay to the promoter to bring these details.
Sufficient details
In its judgment on Tuesday, the Court considered that the additional elements, in particular on the technical and financial capacities of the promoter, are "
sufficiently precise and supported
" and that "
the file has been completed
" on several levels, including the modalities of remediation of the project.
At the end of 2019, the Court had already rejected the argument of opponents that the Environmental Code had been disregarded.
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The group of opponents "
Aspect
" (Association for the protection and protection of the environment) lamented Tuesday that the Court "
went beyond the powers that are its own by substituting its analysis for that of the investigating services of the prefecture
".
He reiterated his opposition to a project which is "
a danger to the water table
", "
does not respect animal life
", and goes "
against the current of environmental objectives and aspirations of the population
".
He indicated his intention to appeal in cassation to the Council of State, and recalled that a separate procedure is pending against the project, before the administrative court of Poitiers.
