Brussels Minister President Rudi Vervoort (PS) confirmed that an appeal to the Council of State against the restoration permit for the abbey in Forest could mean the loss of a €7 million European grant that the neighbourhood has received.
Three local residents and the association Inter Environnement Bruxelles (a federation of neighbourhood committees) appealed to the Council of State in December to have the building permit for the restoration of the abbey in Forest cancelled, Bruzz reports.
The permit was already granted and the municipality received €7 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in 2014 for the project.
But those grants come with conditions, including that the work must be completed by early 2024. The appeal to the Council of State risks delaying the restoration enormously and the municipality risks losing the European subsidies— 17% of the budget— as a result.
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“We are in a state of law and cannot judge in advance on the expediency and validity of an appeal,” Vervoort said in response to a question in the Brussels Parliament. He emphasised the importance of the strict deadlines for financing.
“By the end of 2023, we must have completed the programme. By 2025, the project must be operational, otherwise we will lose an amount of about €7 to €7.5 million. I hope we will find a solution.”
Project would add new library, theatre music space
The project, which is being realised together with Beliris, includes the construction of the future French-language municipal library of Forest, a space for the music academy and the construction of a 300-seat theatre.
But some local residents believe that the new building will destroy the heritage character of the Abbey of Forest.
One of those residents is Annie Richard, a former alderwoman for neighbourhood contracts in Forest (2006-2012) for Ecolo who at the time was an advocate of restoration, although she was not involved in the current restoration project.
“Putting up a modern building on a seventeenth-century site, or demolishing buildings that are in good condition, I don't think that's really necessary,” Richard told La Libre.
