The City of Brussels wants to renovate the Freedom Square, but was previously blocked by urban.brussels. The municipality appealed, but now the Urban Planning Board, which advises the Brussels Region, also gives negative advice for the project.
“Freedom Square is a lively and historic place, but the street covering is in very poor condition due to the growing roots of the trees on the square,” the City of Brussels stated in a press release early this year. “That is why a reconstruction is necessary in which the trees are preserved, but the area around them is raised and constructed in dolomite.”
However, due to that plan, the Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites (KCML) drew a line in September with a negative advice from which urban.brussels cannot deviate. The KCML criticized the construction at the same level and the preservation of the trees that obstruct the view of the historic facades of the square and are therefore incompatible with the ‘valorization of the heritage on the square’.
The City of Brussels then appealed against the decision to refuse the permit for the reconstruction. However, on Thursday the Urban Planning Board, a group of experts, also issued a negative advice about the project. The advisory body largely agrees with the arguments already stated by the KCML.
The file thus ends up back on the government’s plate. It must now make a decision on the permit within 60 days. Although the advice of the Urban Planning Board is not binding, in practice the government will find it difficult to deviate from it.
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
