“I don’t understand how big this is”, confides Albert Gautheron, owner of the Domaine de l’Herminière. A group of residents of Herm got together and launched a petition against the proposed takeover of this campsite, made up of about twenty chalets. A Var property developer plans to expand it and turn it into a Residential Leisure Park, with around sixty chalets. Residents are particularly concerned about noise and one additional cost for the municipality.
Concerns about the future of the project
“There would be direct impacts on local residents, in particular noise, if it goes from 20 chalets to 60. The risk is also that the owners settle there year-round, so it would be a disguised housing estate”, fears Pascal, one of the members of the collective “Let’s protect the quality of life in Herm”. On their Facebook page, residents also point to the lack of security, the sharp increase in traffic or even abusive Airbnb-type rentals.
The mayor of Herm, Philippe Cagnimel, finds these concerns legitimate and admits that he too has questions, even if he “trust the promoter”. The purpose of the public meeting this Monday at 7 p.m. is therefore to make things clearand to allow the owner of the campsite to exchange with the inhabitants, the mayor, and the promoter.
“The controversy has no place to be”
Asked about the different arguments of the collective of inhabitants, Albert Gautheron, owner of the Domaine de l’Herminière, believes that “everything is totally wrong.” There will be neither noise pollution, nor deforestation of part of the site, nor impact on the environment according to him.
“I’m 72, I’m tired, I accepted a takeover offer, I don’t understand where the harm is. The owners will be mainly elderly people, there will be no entertainment or catering, why talk noise pollution? The controversy has no place to be”, he concludes. He will attend the meeting to explain himself.