150 people attended the public meeting organised by René Vandirendonck, Mayor of Roubaix, Slimane Tir, vice-president of the Lille Metropolitan Natural Spaces Agency (ENLM) and Philippe Rattier, Regional Director of Voies Navigables de France .
On Wednesday 30 November, the Blue Links project and the development of the Roubaix Canal were on the agenda of the meeting held in the wedding room of the town hall.
« We have entered an irreversible phase of renovation » declared Slimane Tir, after paying a tribute to all the people involved in local associations and elected representatives who had rallied round to save the Roubaix Canal.
As for Philippe Rattier, he recalled the project's main challenges with regards to the constraints imposed by European fundings.
In reality, timescales need to be coordinated, namely those concerning the works themselves and those concerning funding that is available but which has deadlines attached.
Planning management must therefore be tight!
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There were very few questions raised by the audience. Anglers were happy to learn that the water is of good quality and that it will remain so thanks to the new water supply system.
Several studies on the derelict Kulhmann factory are currently underway. The first results are expected in the first quarter of 2006.
It is also now known that a boater entering the canal will probably spend one night there. Consequently, corresponding infrastructure will have to be put in place in order to accommodate them. Dialogue with the communities will therefore have to be initiated at the beginning of next year on this subject.
To conclude, René Vandirendonck emphasised that an improved city is more attractive to companies and that a quality infrastructure, such as the canal, should boost the development of activity areas as well as job opportunities.
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