On Monday, the civil court in Charleroi began arguments requested by the City of Charleroi concerning expropriations in the context of the “Rive Gauche” real estate project. The City had been dismissed by the Justice of the Peace about the expropriations, which involved seven owners of buildings located on the"Colonnades” of Boulevard Tirou. The City and the developer appealed that decision.
At Monday's hearing, before the civil court, the lawyer for one of the seven owners announced that a settlement had been reached. The lawyer for the City of Charleroi and those of the property developer emphasized the extreme urgency of these expropriations recalling that in July 2013 the City, had given the developer the task of negotiating with the Ministry of Finance. They also stressed the need to rehabilitate the Ville-Basse areas as quickly as possible and asserted that even in the case of a commercial project, "Rive Gauche” is within the public interest, because it is within the context of a general development project. The planning of the project calls for excavation work on the "Colonnades" in April 2015.
The hearing on Monday afternoon should allow the lawyers for the building owners to state their financial demands.
(Source: Belga)
