François Bayrou

Big Plans for Downtown Pau

François Bayrou, mayor of Pau and president of the urban area, wants to make the capital of the Béarn province a modern destination with appeal. Boosting retail is part of a comprehensive policy to vitalize the city centre.

 

What is your aim for the city centre?

Our goal is to promote the Béarn province and especially its capital, Pau. A number of projects - the new covered market, a cinema complex, a performing arts centre, the fully renovated Fine Arts Museum, and the Hédas promenade, whose grand opening attracted 8,000 people - aim to make the city centre even more appealing. Nearly 2.5 million tourists visit Pau every year. Our convention and exhibition centres are both located right in the downtown area.

The City is also carrying out major projects to improve housing. For example, €130 million is to be invested as part of an ambitious programme to renovate the Saragosse neighbourhood, adjacent to the downtown area.

Alongside this, we have an active policy to bring in new companies, which includes offering sites tailored to their needs. We are also working on developing the business parks of tomorrow, such as the Université Technopole and the Rives du Gave areas, which form a new economic hub south of the city centre.

What role does retail play in this project?

The new covered market, which will open this summer, will be the driving force of the downtown area. The project brings in additional shops and restaurants and showcases local produce, authentic products and new market trends. Expectations are high, and the construction work did not discourage the 23,000 customers who do their shopping at the market every week. Nearly all of the stalls have been leased, with some sellers coming from as far away as the Basque coast or Bordeaux.

In addition, we are doing everything we can to make the downtown area more pedestrian-friendly. Redeveloped and clean public spaces, a preserved old town, and safe walkways are what make the place so pleasant. There is sufficient parking with attractive rates, including 2 hours free of charge. Streamlined roadways enable drivers to go around the city centre in 15 minutes and, starting in September, Fébus, the new bus rapid transit (BRT) service, will take 11,000 passengers into downtown Pau every day. Finally, we offer services to make city-centre shopping easier, such as the free childcare centre that looked after 500 children during the past Christmas period.

What would you most like to tell national and international retail chains to get them interested in downtown Pau?

We are taking a very pragmatic approach to attracting retailers. First of all, we are offering a range of premises tailored to their needs. For example, we acquired and reorganised Galerie Joffre, a 600 sq. m. complex in the heart of Pau’s central pedestrian area. But we can also provide smaller premises as a testing ground for retail projects. In key areas of the city centre, we are ready to provide support for incoming business to give new impetus to the area. We have also created a service devoted to retailers, providing a one-stop-shop for project developers to put their plans in motion.

Thanks to these initiatives, we are among the first beneficiaries of the French national Action Cœur de Ville (City Centre Action) plan, whose funding will give us more room to manoeuvre. Our efforts are already paying off, since 65 new retail businesses have been set up in the past 6 months.