Orne Council - Alain Lambert’s Blog

The County’s elected representatives met on the 24th April for the Permanent Commission, presided by Alain Lambert, President of Orne County Council. They adopted several motions for the improvement of life in the county concerning roads, economic development, housing of apprentices, cultural opportunities in smaller communities…

► Improvements to the road network around Flers

As part of a partnership convention between the Council and the Basse Normandie Region which aims to speed up road development, the Permanent Commission voted for several plans to prepare for road-widening around the town of Flers. This will include the transformation into a dual-carriageway of the roads between Flers and Angentan and Flers and Condé sur Noireau and the creation of a by-pass around the north-west of Flers.

Concerning the Flers-Argentan route: Topographical and geotechnical studies will be carried out on the stretch between Briouze and Sevrai. Such studies have already been carried out for the sections at the end of the RD924 (Flers-Briouze and Sevrai-Fontenai sur Orne) and the Council is currently holding a consultation period before work starts on this project in 2010.

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Another topographical study will be launched on the by-pass if the north-west of Flers, a project which has recently been declared in the ‘public interest’.

On the RD 924 and the RD962 between Flers and Condé-sur-Noireau where work is already under way on the slip-road to the Regional automotive supplier zone, the Council has recently made several acquisitions necessary to the project. 70,000 euros has been apportioned by the Permanent Commission for several purchases at Sevrai and Saint-Ouen-sur-Maine (RD 924) and Montilly-su-Noireau (RD 962).

Key points

• 120 million euros worth of works are programmed in the partnership convention.
• The Flers-Argentan section is 36km long.

► Helping companies with expansion projects

The Council is continuing its efforts to aid the expansion of businesses already established in the county. That is why it has accorded significant grants to help expand the Business parks* in Longny-au-Perche, Ecouché and Messei.

In Longny-au-Perche at the Réhardières Business park, the Council has awarded a grant of 300,000 euros, matching the sum awarded by the state, to help with their major economic expansion project. MATFER-BOURGEAT,  who specialise in catering equipment and employ 80 people at their Longny site, would like to relocate a large part of their distribution department which is currently in the Paris area.This move to the Orne will mean the creation of 15 jobs but also necessitates the expansion of the Business Park, for which this grant has been awarded.

In Ecouché, the Business park is also unable to support the expansion plans of Serge ROGER (56 employees working in industrial installation) and TMA France (4 employees) who are currently established on the site. The Permanent Commission has warded 153,965 euros in order to extend the Business Park.
The Commission also voted for a grant of 129,728 euros for phase 1 of an extension of Haute Varenne et Houlme Business Park in Messei, which is home to Faurecia.

Key points

• Nearly 2 million euros are awarded annually by the County Council to allow the extension of existing Business parks
• For a map of all the Business parks in the county: www.entreprendredanslorne.com

► Towards a new policy of finding accomodation for young workers

The County’s elected representatives signed a convention with the Association for temporary housing in Alençon ( l’association pour le logement temporaire et l’hébergement d’Alençon (ALTHEA)) aimed at developing structures which could offer accommodation to young workers, in Alençon and Courtomer. The Council will be awarding 54,000 euros to this association to help it in its socio-educational work, as it helps both youngsters in difficulty who have recently come out of care but also young people who have come to the area for training or to start a job.

Key points

• It’s the first time that the Council has awarded a subsidy of “working capital” to this association to help it in its work with youngsters.
• A grant of 233,380 euros was previously awarded for works to their premises in Alençon.

► Promoting reading in the county

The Council has made the improvement of access to books in rural areas a priority. That is why the Commission voted a budget of 43,646 euros to create a new public library in Céton. The Council’s contribution covers 30% of the cost of the works and will allow 2,000 locals access to its own library facilities.

Key points

• The County’s Multimedia Resource Centre* oversees 49 libraries in the county
• The grant is for investment in fixtures and fittings, lending, professional training and subsidising of one job post.

A list of the 55 dossiers which were submitted to the Permanent Commission is available on demand (in French)

* business parks - ‘zones d’activités’

* County’s Multimedia Resource Centre - La médiathèque départementale de l’Orne