A.C.C.O.B.: Association Against the Quarries in Oloron-Sainte-Marie and the Bager (France)

    In the south-west of France (Atlantic Pyrénées), studies are underway for the installation of a number of carries in Oloron-Sainte-Marie along the "route des crêtes" and in the Bager forest

261 hectares/650 acres of forest in danger!  

(equivalent to the area of  400 rugby pitches)

Document produced by Laurie Muir                         click the elevator to read =>

PETITION AGAINST THE PROJET FOR QUARRIES IN THE OLORON-SAINTE-MARIE AREA

At its meeting on 31 July 2014, the Oloron Town Council agreed to the  studies for a project to install several quarries in the Oloron area.

In the BAGER forest, Oloron, 191 hectares of forest would be destroyed, volcanic areas destroyed and then dug out to a depth of more than 100 metres. (Extending from road marker 12 upto Arudy and down to the Ossau river.)

This project also includes 56.4 hectares at SOEIX, on the ‘route des crêtes’, in the neighbourhood of the ‘CANDAUX’ housing estate (70 houses).  It involves agricultural land belonging to Oloron, part of which is currently used by the Agricultural College, already impacted by the construction of the Oloron by-pass road and a new housing estate (a loss of 20 hectares  of land for the College).

We are formally opposed to any creation of quarries on the territory of Oloron.  Several quarries already exist in neighbouring communities. (LABORDE has a quarry in BAGER SUD, DANIEL has 2 quarries at ASASP and DURRUTY has a quarry waiting to be opened in ASASP, route d’ISSOR.) These quarries are all within a 3 kilometer radius.

We ask the Oloron Town Council to immediately put an end to this destructive and harmful project study, both for the environment and the population concerned.

“L’ACCOB”

The Association against the quarries in Oloron and the Bager