Brussels municipality Saint-Gilles' plans to convert a social housing block on Rue Émile Feron into an office space have been temporarily derailed, as it has emerged that the commune did not apply for planning permission.
The Saint-Gilles régie foncière, the body responsible for housing, is converting social housing into offices for its use. When the website openpermits.brussels highlighted the absence of official approval, the régie foncière acknowledged that it had skipped this step.
It admitted that it "put the cart before the horse" due to a lack of available space for a growing number of staff.
"It is true that we're losing public housing, but [the building] was no longer occupied," Saint-Gilles councillor Catherine François (PS) told La Libre. "Besides, renting offices privately would cost us three times as much. The aim is to submit a comprehensive planning permission application, which is currently being drafted."
The operation involved extending the government body's pre-existing office into the building next to it by demolishing the partition that separates the two sites. These works require separate planning permission applications: one for cutting through a wall and another for modifications to a street-facing façade.
Mayor of Saint-Gilles Jean Spinette (PS) believes the régie foncière intended to apply for one single permit after the works concluded. "They've clearly taken liberties with the way the law works," he said.
Spinette added that the individual responsible for the infraction will likely receive an "administrative reprimand".
Carrying out works without planning permission constitutes a planning offence, according to cabinet of Brussels Secretary of State for Planning Ans Persoons (Vooruit). Between 350 and 400 planning offences are recorded every year.
Social housing needs
There are 55,000 people on the waiting list for social housing in the Brussels-Capital Region. The regional government has launched several initiatives aiming to encourage more construction with this need in mind.
For instance, a reform to urban development charges aims to cover the "social cost" of a project. This means that planning permission applicants will be subjected to an additional charge that goes towards public amenities such as nurseries, schools and public transport, as well as co-financing social housing.
A separate proposal envisages the public purchase of 25% of all property developments in the next ten years, to be used for low-cost housing. A price lower than market value would be set when planning permission is granted, and projects would be offered to public property operators (OIPs) over private buyers.
