The Blue Cube of the ticketed spectacle Prodigy12 stood in Brussels’ De Brouckère Square for more than two months this summer without a valid planning permit, according to a reply by Brussels Secretary of State for Town Planning Ans Persoons Henry (MR) to questions from Brussels MP and city councillor Lotte Stoops (Green).
Stoops said there is also uncertainty over whether the required environmental permit was in place.
Temporary installations do not always require a planning permit. In such cases, however, organisers must notify the regional MyPermit platform no later than 60 days before works begin in order to qualify for an exemption.
According to Henry, that notification was not submitted for the Blue Cube.
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Stoops said this contradicts a reply from the City of Brussels in June, when the municipal executive said the relevant departments had examined the file and the required permits.
She also questioned whether the organiser paid to use the square. Citing one of her sources, Stoops said the site may have been used free of charge, even though the show’s gross takings were estimated to be as high as €110,000 a day.
“Public space belongs to all Brussels residents,” she said. “If a square is handed over for an entire summer to a commercial project, the very least the authorities should do is check that the rules are being followed and be transparent about what the city gains from it.”
