If a vision of the future district becomes clearer, the guide plan presented is not a fixed document, but a reference framework expected to evolve over the course of the studies, the design of public spaces, the landscape treatment and the organization of mobility. “Sud Ouest” details its content.
The Encan sector, identified for a vast rehabilitation project.
Ciboure and CAPB guide map
Table of Contents
The guide plan provides for the construction of 250 housing units, 75% of which will be social housing (rented or purchased). This operation should allow Ciboure to do better within the framework of the SRU law (Solidarity and Urban Renewal), which requires municipalities to have at least 25% social housing. By the end of 2025, the city should reach around 15% according to Mayor Eneko Aldana-Douat. The total number of housing units could, however, be increased to 290, depending on the option chosen for parking, underground rather than above ground.
Cibourians had also expressed their wish to preserve open perspectives and building heights consistent with the existing urban fabric, not exceeding R + 4 (ground floor plus four floors) or occasionally R + 5. They seem to have been heard: the guide plan provides for an average height of buildings in R + 3, with occasional R + 5.
2 More public spaces
At the Auction, the surface area dedicated to public spaces would be multiplied by four, from 10,700 m² to 42,700 m². Nearly 35% of these surfaces would be permeable, including 26% filtering and 10% semi-filtering. A green network is emerging there, notably with the creation of a greenway along the railway line.
Three large public spaces will structure the future district. Place de l’Encan will be a space that is both mineral and planted. It should constitute the link between shops and the main facilities, while opening a wide perspective towards the south of Ciboure. At the heart of the district, the large garden will aim to provide a green setting, directly linked to neighboring programs and the greenway.
Finally, the school square, slightly overhanging the large garden, will combine mineral and plant life. The challenge will be to create a planted border to distance the road and protect the space from cars.
The design of the future Encan district may evolve over the course of comments and studies.
Ciboure and CAPB guide map
3 Soft mobility and parking
Will residents’ dreams of calm traffic and cycle paths see the light of day in the future Encan district? The guide plan gives the first signs of this: it provides for a separation of flows between cars, bicycles and pedestrians, a narrowing of the roads to limit speeds, as well as “gate effects” at the entrance to the neighborhood, intended to mark the start of the zone limited to 30 km/h.
Traffic should also be limited “to what is strictly necessary”. A single service road will cross the neighborhood, corresponding to the diversion of Avenue Delaunay. Access will be restricted to rights holders in certain areas, via a retractable terminal or a key barrier. A pedestrian area will complete the system. Soft mobility will be highlighted, notably with a two-way cycle path built all along the RD 810.
Regarding public transport, a Basque-Landes RER should see the light of day in 2032. It will connect Dax to San Sebastián, with a passage every thirty minutes via the Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ciboure stations. The coastal express line between Bayonne and Hendaye will also be accessible. Active travel modes have also been redesigned. Among the planned developments are the pedestrianization of the tunnel and rue Aristide-Bourousse.
Parking was sized according to town planning rules and the mobility strategy, with an average of 1.6 spaces per dwelling. Part of it will be private, on the ground floor of the buildings, while others will be shared in a built car park. The district will also include places for visitors and customers, as well as local squares on the surface.
4 Integrated management of rainwater and flood risk
Rainwater management will be integrated directly into the landscape of the future Encan district. The public space will feature vegetated alleyways, permeable and semi-permeable soils, as well as planted areas capable of absorbing water. Spaces like the large garden will participate in this management, by retaining part of the rainwater
After more than an hour of presentation, the Cibourians were able to discuss the guide plan and formulate their comments.
MIchel Hiribarren / SO
The district is located in a flood zone, particularly in the event of flooding of the Nivelle, intense rain or high tides. Rising water levels could reinforce these phenomena. The guide plan makes several recommendations for developing the future block in the face of these risks. Sensitive public facilities must be located outside flood zones, and housing will be positioned on upper floors rather than on the ground floor.
The lifting pumps must be reinforced and the equipment, businesses or artisanal workshops protected by raising their technical components. Protection devices at the building level, such as cofferdams, must also be provided to limit the intrusion of water in the event of flooding.
5 Shops and a craft village
The guide plan also devotes a section to the active programs of the future Encan district. Commercial activity will be developed in the heart of the site, along the axis linking the city center to the south of Ciboure. The objective is to complete the existing offer around the Marinela shopping center and to open the possibility, for some of its businesses, to transfer their activity to the new district.
The Encan cellars could be partially or completely rebuilt as part of the rehabilitation of the district.
Archives Vincent Dewitte
Tertiary activity and premises for liberal professions will be integrated at the entrance to the district, avenue François-Mitterrand. Productive or artisanal activity will not be forgotten: fishing, cannery, bicycle repair or even activities linked to the station should be established on the northern section of Avenue Delaunay. This artisanal village could see the light of day in place of the existing cellars in this part.