Long-awaited plans for a new open-air swimming pool in Brussels are finally materialising, as the tender for the pool on the roof of Manufakture in Anderlecht is set to be launched before the summer.
Announced in 2022, plans for a swimming pool on the roof of Manufakture, on the former Abattoir site in Anderlecht, drew much enthusiasm from the city's residents. However, due to the involvement of several layers of government, the project has dragged on for a long time.
Now, Brussels State Secretary for Urban Renewal Ans Persoons (Vooruit) told Bruzz that the tender for the project is due to be launched before the summer.
Nils Quintelier, Persoons' spokesperson, confirmed to The Brussels Times that preparations are in motion. "We aim to launch the tender before the summer," he said. "All the necessary preparations will be made over the coming weeks. We then hope to secure the Brussels Government's approval before the summer so that we can go ahead with the tender."
No outdoor pools
Once the proposal has received government approval, the project will be launched immediately. This will be done via a DBFM (Design, Build, Finance, Maintain) contract, which is a form of public-private partnership.
The contract will be awarded in 2028, with the aim to start the construction of the swimming pool during this legislative term – meaning before spring 2029.
Brussels currently only has one public swimming pool per 68,000 inhabitants – considerably fewer than Flanders (1/22,000) and Wallonia (1/29,000). The pools that exist are structurally overburdened, especially during school hours. And even worse on hot summer days: none of them are outdoors.
With the disappearance of the temporary FLOW initiative last May, this currently makes Brussels the only European city with more than a million inhabitants and no outdoor swimming pool.
Plans for the Manufakture building. Credit: Pascal Smet cabinet, BAUKUNST
The open-air rooftop swimming pool in Anderlecht would provide much-needed infrastructure for school swimming and recreation. Additionally, it will also offer the prospect of an inclusive and vibrant neighbourhood in Cureghem.
Easily accessible by public transport, all inhabitants of Brussels should be able to get to the swimming pool, which is expected to have a surface area similar to that of the city's Grand Place.
"The city is only getting hotter, so this project is becoming increasingly important," said Persoons. "With Vooruit, we have always treated this project as a priority."
More locations
The Brussels Government also included open-air swimming in its coalition agreement, stating that the government will "further investigate the construction of various open-air swimming locations", including the open-air one on the Abattoir site.
In addition to the Manufakture project, the coalition agreement also specifies that the Brussels Government will examine plans for a natural swimming pond in Neerpede (Anderlecht), with due regard for biodiversity and the urban context, and a swimming pool in the canal.
"The government will also launch a feasibility study for supervised swimming in the canal, primarily in the south of Brussels," the agreement said.
