The scheme of a congress centre in the middle of the campaign... of 2014

The new congress centre should be on the left (credit Angers)

The project of a new congress center planned by the Angers city council majority will be, as it was said in that blog a few weeks ago (February 14th 2013), an important stake of the next municipal polls. That possibility, mentionned a few weeks ago by Jean-Claude Bachelot, deputy mayor, was confirmed on March 1st by... Christophe Béchu, likely candidate to the office of Angers mayor, who criticized the scheme of a that new congress centre.

Pointing out the majority project will be too costly and not served by the second tramway line, Mr Béchu claimed that other locations existed : "There are some temporay solutions to imagine for conventioneers : Terra Botanica", the park he set up a few years ago in Avrillé and which is not at its best. After three operating years, the park frequentation does not take off. About 260 000 visitors were recorded in 2010, 300 000 in 2011 and around 270 000 last year.  So, the facility is far to have reached its objectives : 400 000 visitors per year. 

The Terra Botanica park

 According to the president of the Conseil general de Maine-et-Loire, the main weakness of the Angers town council projet is its location. "When the new congress centre will be opened, it will not be served by a tramway". But Terra Botanica is and nevertheless...