Rural Languedoc is slowly disappearing warns SAFER, Société d'aménagement foncier et d'établissement rural. In a 50 page white paper SAFER draws a bleak picture of accelerating urban expansion and Minsirty of Agriculture complicity in the growing number of Z.I.s, industrial zones, that are expanding deep into the countryside. Languedoc is paticularly effected according to the white paper. It claims that in1990 each new house in the Languedoc eat 420 square meters of countryside, in 2003 this had risen to 460 square metres. Not only has the size of the houses and their land increased but the number of migrants heading to the South has massively increased, 10 years ago their was a net loss of population in teh Languedoc, last year alone the population grew by 30,000 people, a trend that looks likely to continue. SAFER claims that between 1979 and 2000 approximatley 100,000 hectares of countryside and agriclutural; land was lost to development. Equally they claim that the expansion of commercial forests are also eating into the available agricultrural land. The development of the secondary house market, particularly the impact of the low cost airlines, has added to the problem with a section of the available hosuing stock being taken as holiday homes thus fueling the need for new build to deal with the population growth. Nationally SAFER calims that foreign buyers are paying about 35% over the odds for property, thus increasing the price pressure on property. The cumulation of this is an increased cost of agricultural land, between 1997and 2003 the average price of agricultural land has increased 34% to a national average of 4,490 euro per hectare. In the Herault the average price is 5,920 euro per hectare and in the Gard 6470 euro, the Languedoc still have a long way to go before the region reachs the record in the Var-18370 euro a hectare.

Rural Languedoc in danger warns Safer 18th October 2004 Peter Shield
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