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| Panorama of "The Terrasses de Coquelles" |
The Terrasses de Coquelles project was initiated by local politicians who wanted to continue economic development in Coquelles and in the Calais region that had previously been the reserve of the private sector centred around three main poles :
With viable land becoming rarer and rarer, plans had to be made for the future. This intention was formalised as early as 1989 with the creation of an urban pre-emption law concerning the ‘Longues Pièces’ district in the Old Coquelles quarter with a view to constituting a land reserve. The geographical positioning of this land, a natural enclave between the Channel Tunnel site and the A16 motorway, presented itself as a perfect opportunity to further economic development in Coquelles and the Calais region.
The local politicians chose this option and opted to develop the site in the same way the Eurotunnel development real estate project had been carried out. Therefore, by assigning a tertiary sector function to the Terrasses de Coquelles, the local authorities were seen to consolidate the economic weight of the Eurotunnel ZAC and, more particularly, its existence as a business park.
The project really got going in 2000 when the local council authorised Mme Astrid CRESPEL, the mayor at that time, to begin all the necessary procedures to acquire the land concerned. It took 4 years to convince the eight different owners to part with their land and constitute the 227 134 m² plot that would eventually become the Terrasses de Coquelles business park.
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| Inauguration of business park |
Only in March 2006, after all the administrative conditions relating to this type of procedure had been lifted (bylaws relating to water, noise, modification of land use, urban planning constraints) and all archaeological excavations had been carried out, did construction work begin lasting 14 months in total.
