Municipality of Vierville-sur-Mer
Municipal Information - Bulletin N°13 - February 2009 - "http://vierville.free.fr"
THE MAYOR'S WORD
This new No. of the Municipal Bulletin arrives to you with a few weeks of delay compared to those of previous years.
This additional time was necessary to prepare the content, as rich as possible in information on current projects: development of the PLU, erasure of air networks, commemoration of June 06, are the main points of the 2009 action of our municipal council, not to mention the changes in the functioning of our Post Office.
Improving the living environment, maintaining services at the best possible level, active commemoration of landing operations, monitoring the beach, understanding complex regulations and their consequences will continue to guide us in the search for solutions for a measured and harmonious development of our village.
Jean-Marie Oxéant
Vierville Post Office
At its last meeting, the city council had to once again address the issue of the future of the Vierville post office because the post office management decided to further reduce the opening time to the public from 10 a.m. currently to 5 a.m. in the coming weeks.
The city council regrets this new blow to the maintenance of public service in rural areas. This is not the first; for 10 years, they have been numerous and have always resulted for the Vierville office in a decrease in its opening time (passage to half-time as part of a twinning with St Laurent, permanent closure of St Laurent, decrease in opening time in winter, then decrease in time in summer, office closure on Wednesdays and Saturdays, always complicated the attendance of the office by users, attempt at total closure in the summer of 2007 and today desire to keep only 5 hours per week).
The municipal council, after having exchanged with M. BESNARD, during a previous meeting has therefore decided, with regret, to opt for the creation of a municipal postal agency, on the sole condition of obtaining the agreement of the post office for 15 hours of weekly opening, or five mornings a week, from Tuesday to Saturday.
An agreement will be signed guaranteeing these provisions for nine years, with the payment of a monthly contribution by the Post Office of 855 euros, the provision and maintenance of computer equipment by post, the municipality becoming the employer of the person in charge of the counter, in the premises of the former Post Office.
These provisions will take effect in the coming weeks. The municipal council thus intends to remain in its logic of maintaining a place of service and social ties.
6 June 2009
The city council obviously wishes to give the best welcome to the American veterans who will visit us this year.
Less and less numerous, the 65th anniversary will be for most the last opportunity to return to these beaches where they often took their first steps in hell. We must take advantage of this final meeting to assure them that we will perpetuate the memory of the sacrifice of their fallen comrades throughout the liberating battles.
This is one of the reasons why we will welcome on June 5, 6 and 7 the students of a class of 3ème of a college in Coutances that works throughout the current school year to design and create a model that will be exhibited in the communal hall during these 3 days of commemoration. Other associations have already been selected to participate in various activities; spirit of recollection and spirit of celebration will be our guiding sons to organize and animate in early June. A fireworks display organized with the Normandy Memory competition will be fired on the evening of June 5.
A more specific program will be communicated to you during the spring.
The pebbles of the beach of Vierville
Before 1944, the beach was bordered by a large cordon of large pebbles (up to 20 meters wide, and of variable thickness both in time and in space). The sand of the beach sometimes covered these pebbles, but usually the cord was large enough not to disappear completely.
In Colleville, the cord was made of small pebbles.
Several transverse wooden ears had been built in front of Vierville, perhaps to better stabilize the sand on the beach. These ears limited the movement of the pebbles, without preventing it, because they were often "submerged" by them. Remains of these ears are still visible today
According to studies by specialists, these pebbles come from the erosion of the hard rock cliffs of the Pointe de la Percée. The Percée would thus be an area of divergence of sedimentary transport by coastal drift. Between the Percée and Grandcamp, the pebbles and sediments therefore move along the coast towards the Bay of Veys. To the east of the Percée, the pebbles move east.
Pebbles are indeed mobile, they are said to "migrate". With storms, the pebbles wear out, decrease in size by rounding, and they move eastwards by "coastal drive". In these circumstances, they are pushed by tidal currents, which, in front of Omaha Beach, are faster to the east during the flood (the rising tide lasts 5 hours on average) than to the west during the jusant (the descending tide lasts 7h30 on average).
The size of the pebbles is generally decreasing by going east, under the double effect of the faster migration speed for small pebbles than for large ones, and also because the pebbles furthest from their source (the Breakthrough) have suffered erosion for longer. Thus, in the past, the pebbles on Colleville beach were already quite small, compared to those found in Vierville (see the old postcards above).
Today, and for various reasons, the situation is very different. There are almost no more pebbles under the Vierville coastal road.
When the sand temporarily withdraws, those currently seen are on shallow thicknesses and the underlying peat is often visible. On the other hand, there are huge masses of pebbles to the west of the American pontoon stranded under the descent of Vierville. See the photo opposite, dating from March 2008
There are fewer pebbles today in front of Omaha Beach, firstly because the Americans exploited them a lot for the stoning of their roads.
But above all, the pebbles seeking to migrate permanently to the East, this regular flow has been blocked since 1944 by the dam formed under Vierville by the American pontoon stranded since June 20, 1944. We then understand why today the beach to the east of the pontoon has almost no more pebbles, and that on the other hand they accumulate immediately west of the pontoon.
Today, the further east we go on Omaha Beach, the more numerous and smaller the cord pebbles are found (current situation in Colleville).
One day (in how many years or decades?) The pontoon will eventually be bypassed and the migratory pebbles of the Percée will again spread in cordon along the top of the beach of Vierville, and it will become like before the war.
Images of the evolution of pebbles in Vierville since 1944
Before 1944, in front of the beach of Vierville, there was an imposing pebble cord, based on large pebbles (15/25cm) dominant (unlike the East of the beach, in Colleville, where small pebbles dominated.
Around June 20, 1944, a storm ran aground in front of Vierville, a few meters below the pebble cord, an American pontoon type RCP (approx. 20x15m), intended for the floating docks of the Mulberry port. This pontoon is still in place today, but the topography of the place has gradually completely changed.
At first, the transit of pebbles must have been little affected because the pontoon was separated from the cord.
In addition, American Engineering widely exploited the pebble cord for its needs to create and maintain various roads and tracks. The amount taken is unknown, but it is assumed to be very important with regard to the mass of the cord. This operation lasted several months in summer and autumn 1944.
Then very quickly the pontoon induced the growth of a sand tongue that connected it to the pebble cord. This sand ended up closing the passage of water between the pontoon and the pebbles at high tides. Probably as early as 1945, the transit of sand and pebbles was completely stopped between the pontoon and the shore.
As a result, the pebble cord to the west of the pontoon has fattened more and more, as the Percée reservoir continued to send pebbles to Vierville. The current absence of pebbles on the beach of Vierville - St-Laurent would therefore be explained, not only by US withdrawals, but also by the shutdown of supply from the west and by the migration of the remaining cord to St-Laurent and Colleville, over 60 years.
To the west of the pontoon, there should therefore be a very significant accumulation of pebbles for 60 years.
In fact, this accumulation was masked at the beginning by the embankments carried out in this area by the municipality to create parking space.
These backfills have been very gradual, over many years, as the surplus of waste available during work in the region. As a result, as the pebble cord fattened, it was covered with new layers of various backfills. This expansion of the parking lot ended in the early 1990s (after 1991 and before 1997 according to aerial photos), with the installation of protective rock covers of the entire coast between Vierville and St-Laurent (and also beyond). These rocks to the west of the pontoon, resting on it, completely covered the existing pebble cord. Then the cord was reconstituted in front of the embankment, as can be seen now, about fifteen years later, already important and fattening every year a little more.
1997, the embankment is completed and protected by a cordon of large rocks
The dike and the pebble slope around June 8, 1944. We see the importance of the pebble slope before the samples taken by the Military Engineering
. 
The villa Hardelay. The photo taken at the end of 44 shows that the embankment had been equalized and raised to the top of the dike, which facilitated its crossing everywhere.
The pontoon around 1952, a tongue of sand and pebbles blocks the migration of sediments to the East
In 1975, the pebbles accumulated behind the pontoon, and the backfill of the parking lot began
The development of the Local Urban Plan
During its development, the Local Urban Planning Plan must be the subject of permanent consultation with the various administrations, Departmental and Regional, with the Chambers of Commerce, Agriculture, Trades and a whole series of organizations.
The stages of its development are specified in the Urban Planning Code.
In addition, the Local Urban Planning Plan must take into account various laws and provisions:
- the planning and orientation laws to the Coastal Act, the Landscape Act, the Water Act, the Agricultural Guidance Act, etc.
- the provisions of the supra-municipal documents at SCoT du Bessin, Local Housing Program, etc.
During this phase of preparation of the document, the population is invited to make remarks on the municipal project during the public consultation (information in the municipal bulletin and exhibition in town hall for one month).
Once the project has been validated by the municipality, the PLU file is submitted for advice to all associated partners (state services and consular bodies) before being presented again to the population as part of the public inquiry.
In view of the various remarks made, the document can be modified and then approved by the Municipal Council.
It then becomes operational.
Elected officials must take into account a set of provisions that are necessary for them in the definition of their development project. The main provisions to be integrated are those of the Coastal Law as well as the development guidelines defined in the SCOT Bessin.
The SCOT guidelines can be consulted on the Internet:
http://www.scotbessin.fr/telechargements/index.php
The main principles of the Coastal Law
The entire municipal territory of Vierville-sur-Mer, a coastal municipality, is subject to the provisions of the law on the development, protection and development of the coast of January 3, 1986 (art. L.146-1 to L.146-6 of the Urban Planning Code).
This law aims to establish a balance between recovery and protection of coastal areas.
She refers to:
- to several spaces that are as many concepts (not always clearly defined by law): "Notable spaces", "Inconstructible strip of 100 meters", "Urbanization cuts", "Spaces Near the Shore"...
- to names such as "village", "hamlet", and "reception capacity of a territory"
So:
- The most fragile spaces and environments that have characteristics influenced by the proximity of the sea must be preserved from any urbanization or development that may affect them,
- It is forbidden to build, outside urbanized spaces, in a strip of 100 meters from the shore
- Constructions can only be carried out in continuity with existing villages (villages within the meaning of the coastal law, i.e. with shops, services, equipment, etc.)
- Urbanization cuts will have to be maintained between two urbanized spaces.
The diagnosis of the territory, basis for reflection
The diagnosis consists of an inventory of the community on the initial state of the environment (landscape, urbanization development, typology of construction, etc.), socio-economic analysis (demography, housing, travel, economy, etc.) and explains the planning and development choices of the community for the next 10 years.
It highlights the shortcomings and therefore identifies issues.
Given the many themes addressed in the context of the territorial diagnosis, it is difficult to make an exhaustive synthesis of the different characteristics of the municipality. Thus, the following elements will focus on briefly presenting the main points to remember and the major issues of the development of the territory.
An exhibition will be organized at the town hall and will present the diagnosis in more detail.
The main characteristics of the territory
The territory has experienced a population increase since 1999, partly linked to the permanent installation of secondary residents. The aging trend of the municipal population, observed over the past twenty years, is increasing. In 2008, the population of Vierville-sur-Mer included the largest share of over 60 years, compared to the other municipalities of the Communauté de Communes de Trévières. Some young couples have come to settle in the municipal territory but this is not enough to stabilize the trend towards aging.
To The housing park is increasing but remains not very diversified (a majority of people who own their housing) which does not facilitate population rotations. The tourist vocation of the municipality is reflected in the large number of second homes, although in recent years there has been a trend in the transformation of these dwellings into main residences. The pace of new construction has accelerated slightly in recent years, reflecting the attractiveness of the municipality.
Economic activity is mainly focused on tourism, whether historical or seaside. This induces a sometimes significant frequency of coastal areas, which is not without problems in terms of traffic (car, pedestrian, cyclist) and parking. Thus, developments are to be planned to improve this situation.
Some shops and services are present in the village and on the beach (seasonal shops). This commercial equipment makes it possible to meet the needs of 1ère need of the population. This also makes it possible to maintain a certain dynamism on the territory. Maintaining them is important for the community.
Agricultural activity remains strongly present even if the headquarters of farms located in the municipality will soon disappear.
The attractiveness of the territory is based both on the historical dimension of the site but also on the quality of the natural spaces present. They should be preserved because they contribute to the charm and identity of the municipality. This wealth has recently led to the classification of part of the territory in listed site of Omaha Beach which induces a number of prescriptions regarding the development possibilities of the plots included in the site.
The landscapes of the town, linked to the grove but also to the ancient built heritage deserve special attention.
In addition, the development of urbanization will have to take into account the various risks (floods in particular) and necessary resources (drinking water supply, sanitation capacity).
Several working meetings were necessary to understand the characteristics of the municipality and highlight the development issues. The elements of the diagnosis were presented to the various organizations associated with the development of the Local Urban Planning Plan.
The issues identified will serve as the basis for the development of the municipal project (Development and Sustainable Development Project) which is the key piece of the Local Urban Planning Plan.
Development issues
Maintain the current quality of communal life - preserve the rural character
Remain a dynamic territory and promote the reception of young populations
Organize - control municipal urban development
Develop the village, the descent to the seafront and the seaside resort to improve its operation (traffic, parking) and its image
Concentrate urban development around the village
Diversify the housing stock (promote the construction of rental housing) in the interest of social mix
Facilitate smooth travel
Support the development of tourism activities in order to allow the coexistence of different uses and maintain the attractiveness of the territory
Manage tourist flows and have a relevant welcome offer
Preserve and develop services, shops and equipment
Protect agricultural activity
Preserve natural environments and landscapes to enhance the territory
Preserve landscapes (and their main constituent elements) including views of the Sea
Preserve hedges (also for their anti-runoff role), or even recreate them
Preserve hiking trails
Integrating new constructions into the landscape – thinking of a more space-saving form of development
Following steps:
The Planning and Sustainable Development Program is being developed by the municipality. It will define the development policy for the next 10 years. Once this project is defined, it will be presented to the various associated partners and then to the population in the form of an exhibition in town hall (whose dates will be specified later).
A debate on this project within the Municipal Council will close this phase of work.
Air network burial work in the village
The final preliminary draft has been approved. The amount of the cost of the work amounts to €292,000, the remaining amount paid by the municipality is €46,780 (€35,000 paid on the surpluses of the 2006 Municipal Budget and €11,780 by a 6-year loan).
This work, which will last at least 3 months, will not be undertaken until after the summer of 2009.
Green Brigades
Pending the creation of a public interest group, the city council renews its trust in the Green Brigade and decides to commission in 2009 "Bayeux Intercom Brigades Vertes" for environmental monitoring on the territory of the municipality of Vierville sur Mer.
Household waste collection
Door-to-door selective sorting will be implemented in early May 2009. We will therefore have to use different types of bags and it will no longer be necessary to deposit the sorted waste in the containers, except for the glass.
In order to inform you and give you yellow bags, an information meeting will be organized at the end of March, beginning of April, in collaboration with SEROC staff.
We will tell you, in good time, the place, date and time of this meeting.
Internet / ADSL
In order to improve the ADSL service of the territory, the general council has put in place an exceptional offer for the inhabitants of the sectors that remained without a satisfactory technical solution. A WIMAX network is open. An offer allows you to benefit from free radio equipment as well as installation costs. For any information, contact Altitude Telecom at the following number 0892.760.800
Practical information
http://vierville.free.fr
WELCOME to Mr. GAUDRE and his company GC elec - Mr. GAUDRE new resident of Vierville has created his electricity company in our municipality (Rue de La Hérode). He thus joins Mr. COTHENET who created his plumbing company, ABCP, a few years ago.
These two companies therefore offer additional services to the inhabitants of Vierville and the surrounding area. Do not hesitate to contact them.
Town hall: Opening hours: Monday and Friday 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Tel.: 02.31.22.42.66 Fax: 02.31.21.38.57
Email: "mairie.viervillesurmer@wanadoo.fr"
Library on Monday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at the City Hall, open to all and free.
La Poste: A Vierville: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm;
Mail lifts from Monday to Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
Cult:Mass in Vierville on Sundays at 10:00 am in July and August. Usual mass in Trévières on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.
Firefighters: Tel. 18 Gendarmerie: Tel. 17 or 0231225103 SAMU: Tel. 15
All emergencies on mobile phone: 112
Diste disposal:
The Port en Bessin waste disposal facility is open on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (6 p.m. from 1/4 to 30/9), Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (6 p.m. from 1/4 to 30/9), closed on Thursday and Sunday. Other waste disposal facilities are available in the West of Bessin.
Household Waste:collection every Monday morning, and in July and August additional passage on Friday morning.
D.Day Omaha Museum open from 1er April to November 11, and on request of groups, off-season
Contact: Mr. Brissard - Tel.: 02.31.21.71.80 - Fax: 02.31.21.71.80
OMAHA-BEACH BEDFORD Association (VA)
Subject: duty of Memory and reception of Americans visiting our sites.
President: Bertrand LE JEMTEL, tel.: 02 31 10 03 59 www.omahabeach-bedford.com
Association Charles de Bellaigue: humanitarian action in Benin - Tel: 02 31 51 74 13
E-mail: "asso.charlesdebellaigue@voilà.fr" Website: "http://charles.de.bellaigue.free.fr"
Association Beach Friends
President: Dominique GUERNIER tel. 02 31 22 60 41
All year round: Tennis Club Viervillais, 1 outdoor court, rue Pavée
Registration: go in front of the court, first door to the left of the grocery store.
Association Vierville Educational Leisure
Contact: Mrs. FONTAINE, tel 08 72 34 98 16. September to June, manual activities on Tuesdays from 2:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Old Combatants
Contact: Henri GUEDON, tel. 02.31.22.49.83
Vierville-St-Laurent Hunting Society: Contact: René LENOURICHEL tel.: 02.31.22.40.27