• Brezhoneg
  • Brezhoneg

Renovation of Les Halles food market : modern and appealling

« Les halles must evolve, both commercially and from the point of view of the building. We have a twenty year plan. This will change some habits, and bring new life to the city centre. » Guillaume Menguy, deputy responsible for planning, qualiity of life, urban renewal and green spaces.

A true commercial nucleus and convivial space in the heart of Quimper, les Halles are due to be completely renovated. The municipality is making every effort to create a state of the art facility with increased appeal as part of the revitalization of the entire city centre.

The future of the Halles Saint-François is a city wide priority, and not only in terms of trade. It is part of a heritage strategy, which aims to assess new needs in order to predict well structured investments. It is part of a multi-annual investment plan.

A necessary return to standards…..

The Halles that we know today were built after a fire in 1976. They are a communal property which is rented out to retailers. There are currently 46 sitting tenants as well as some temporary traders and two adjacent bar/restaurants.

It is now imperative to bring the building up to code, in terms of accessibility and security: for the building (this concerns also the first floor and the basement), the traders and the public.

…an ambition of some magnitude

However, the community does not intend to limit itself to simple regulatory work. In close consultation with traders (three are part of the steering committee), it has taken the opportunity to go above and beyond that which is simply necessary. It is planning to evolve the Halles, in order to adapt to the changing economic and commercial market.

So why not create a slightly different interior configuration by redistributing the space and integrating other activities, in order to enhance businesses and attract new customers?

Seven million Euros

The structure, in the centre of town, has limited possibilities. Whilst the work is carried out the businesses will therefore need to be moved to other locations. Several are anticipated, including the place Saint-Mathieu, esplanade François Mitterrand and the place Saint-Corentin. The construction will be carried out as swiftly as possible and should not exceed 18 months from start to finish.

One of the objectives is to resettle a maximum amount of the current traders in the modernized hall. This will mean some changes to their daily lives, but also to those of their clients, in the sense that the new structure will offer more comfort, quality and conviviality.

There is continuous discussion about this ambitious project, whose budget is estimated at 7 million € (before tax).

A collaborative project

The project resurfaced in the spring of 2014. The collaborative approach with traders resulted in the integration of the steering committee in June 2015. They were all able to voice their opinions in personal interviews and participatory workshops.

In February 2016, the program was discussed. It will probably be presented to the city council in June 2016, after which the implementation studies will commence.