In July last year, Brussels Union Environment granted a derogation from a nature conservation regulation in the stadium file. The national champion was therefore given permission to cut down 237 trees. The reason for granting this deviation was, among other things, the public interest of the project and the lack of fully-fledged alternatives in terms of locations.
However, that decision was not well received by some nature associations. After all, felling the trees would also be accompanied by the destruction of habitats for birds and bats, among other things. The non-profit organization We Are Nature appealed against that decision in September.
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Appeal admissible, but unfounded
However, the Brussels Environment Board has now rejected that appeal. It declared the appeal admissible, but also relied on compelling reasons and the great public interest of the project to declare the appeal unfounded. “The Environment College has confirmed the decision of Brussels Environment, with only formal adjustments,” it said. The council points out the socio-economic scope of the project and the need for Union to have an infrastructure that is consistent with the structural growth of the club and UEFA standards.
Although Union was granted the deviation, it was also imposed some strict conditions. For example, it will have to fully compensate all felled trees. Also striking in the conditions: Union must use part of the wood released during the felling to create… shelters for hedgehogs on the site.
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Just a step in the right direction
This ruling does not mean a definitive green light for the construction of the stadium, because the permit applications that Union submitted are still being processed. The file is also currently considered incomplete. According to Brussels Environment, this ruling is separate from the permits required for the implementation of the project.
