It’s official: Lake in Anderlecht to become swimming spot

The Brussels regional government has approved a plan to develop a swimming area in the lake in Pede Park in Anderlecht. The plan calls for the lakes and ponds in the Neerpede area to be cleaned and for the largest to become a public swimming spot.

But it concerns much more than that. The Neerpede area consists of 400 hectares that spans from Anderlecht into Flemish Brabant. Home to much green space, it will be transformed into a nature reserve and recreational area, with walking and cycling paths, sport infrastructure, an adventure park – and a lake for swimming.

If all goes according to plan, Brussels residents should be able to take a dip by the summer of 2023. The same area will become home to small-scale farming projects, and sound barriers will be placed along the Brussels Ring to make the whole neighbourhood that much more relaxing.

“A natural swimming spot is fantastic, certainly in this neighbourhood,” Paul Steinbrück of Pool is Cool, an organisation long advocating for open-air swimming pools and lakes in the capital, told VRT. “It’s a green area close to the city centre. It could even give Brussels residents the feeling that they are on holiday. But Brussels really needs another open-air swimming spot, hopefully on the other side of the city.”

Photo: Pool is Cool ran a public swimming pilot project in the Pede lake in 2019