The Council of State suspended the urban planning permit for the dismantling of the interior of the Palais du Midi, intended to enable the construction of a tunnel for Brussels’ new Metro Line 3.
The suspension follows the refusal by the Brussels Regional Public Service to examine a request to classify the Palais du Midi as a protected heritage site. This refusal was deemed inadmissible and has also been suspended by the Council of State.
Two rulings represent another setback for the Metro Line 3 project. The objections against the permit were filed by the Brussels associations Arau and Inter-Environnement Bruxelles (IEB). Arau acted alone in one of the cases.
The Council of State has yet to rule definitively on whether the permit should be annulled. The cases involve an urgent procedure to prevent potential irreversible damage.
The permit for dismantling the interior of the Palais du Midi was granted by Brussels authorities in August. Arau and IEB argue that the works would cause “irreparable harm” to Brussels’ architectural and social heritage.
The iconic building, located between Lemonnier Avenue and Stalingrad Avenue, has long been the centre of debate over Metro Line 3. The metro tunnel is planned to run under the Palais du Midi, but due to stability concerns, the Brussels public transport company (MIVB) proposed the partial dismantling of the building.
The contested permit includes the interior demolition of the Palais du Midi and plans for commercial spaces, schools, sports and cultural facilities, two public squares, and the renovation of the façade.
In 2023, Arau submitted a request to classify the building as protected heritage, followed by two similar applications in August 2025. Brussels’ Heritage Directorate rejected the latter requests, claiming they duplicated the earlier 2023 application, which had not yet been decided upon.
Arau questioned the competence and legality of the decision to declare its applications inadmissible.
The key debate is whether a valid classification request was pending when the permit was issued on 21 August 2025. The MIVB and Brussels authorities say no.
The Brussels government defends their decision, stating the initial application was still open on 20 August, justifying the rejection of later requests.
IEB, Arau, and urban movement BRAL have called for Metro Line 3 to be abandoned. They propose Premetro+ as an alternative, which would involve extending existing tram lines.
