We vote this Sunday in the district of Vignes-Benettes in Pecq.
No error on the electoral agenda, no partial passed under the radar, it is in fact an exercise in participatory democracy in the form of a mini-referendum.
The approximately 1,200 voters in the district are invited to position themselves in the face of the project proposed by the town hall concerning the future of the former Normandie-Niemen nursery school.
And the subject is debated.
Given its dilapidated state, the establishment was replaced in 2011 by a new school complex.
The city is now planning the destruction of the building dating from 1968, disused since the departure of the academic inspection services in 2020, and the sale of the 7,800 square meter plot to an operator.
The objective is to create a set of fifty housing units and a crèche with 40 cradles.
The mayor “does not want to force through”
Examples of participatory democracy actually applied on this scale are rare.
“There, we are not pretending”, underlines Laurence Bernard, the mayor (LR) of Pecq.
If the elected official opted for "this new process which people seem to be asking for and which interests me a lot", it is also, as she explains, "because we felt a certain reluctance when we presented this project and that we don't want to go through with force".
The Vignes-Benettes district
The copy was worked to weigh as little as possible on the city's finances.
The sale to the operator must make it possible to absorb the cost of the crèche, the greening of the square, the creation of parking spaces, and participate in the renewal of the urban furniture of a district.
“We want to give it a facelift,” explains Laurence Bernard.
The new dwellings will be open to acquisition in the form of real solidarity lease, that is to say the purchase of the building but not the land.
An operation that opens up a reduction in prices of around 30% compared to free acquisition.
“We saw the neighborhood change, not in a good way”
Problem, in this set of high buildings already very dense, the idea of building new buildings, even of a limited size, does not necessarily go well.
“We are already tight,” laughs a young mother near the school.
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“We have lived there for a long time and we have seen the neighborhood change, not in a good way”, also regrets a local resident.
The man is well informed and on Sunday he will put an envelope.
If he appreciates the approach of the town hall - "it is to his credit" - he believes that the "no" should prevail.
The risk exists and Laurence Bernard assumes it.
“Besides, the operator rolled his eyes when we explained to him how we were going to work, but that was really close to my heart,” says the elected official.
To ensure that the result of the ballot has real legitimacy, the participation threshold was set at 33%.
Below this, the city will not take into account the result of the consultation.
“We have no idea what it will give, recognizes the mayor of Pecq.
We try and we will see.
If so, so much the better.
If not, we will at least make a crèche adapted to needs with outdoor spaces because it is a necessity”.
The Delfino room polling station will be open this Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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