Ixelles must pay compensation for wall of containers outside homes

Residents on a street in Ixelles who were subjected to an eight-metre-high wall of shipping containers outside their homes for seven months will receive compensation for the disturbance.

The local council and the companies involved with the container wall on Rue Jules Bouillon must pay a total of €11,500 in compensation to six residents, who found themselves deprived of both light and privacy - the containers contained active offices - for more than half a year as a result of the wall. 

“I feel claustrophobic and as if I’m being spied on,” one resident said at the time, noting that she could almost touch the metal tower from her window.

The residents were first told that the containers - which had been installed as part of a construction project under a sustainable neighbourhood contract with the local council - would remain in place for 36 months.

After countless complaints to the council and legal action, the metal tower finally disappeared seven months later. 

Several affected residents took the matter to court to seek compensation and were awarded it in a ruling handed down last week.

“Cave-like homes are in vogue in some parts of the world, but anyone who prefers light has the right not to be deprived of it,” the judgement states in part.

“[The contractors] invoke their planning permission, but that does not give them the right to obstruct the view or the light reaching neighbouring residents with an eight-metre-high metal wall.”

The municipality of Ixelles, for its part, is accused of not having acted decisively enough.

“One cannot shake off the impression that there was a lack of willingness, because the construction site had only just begun and moving the installation would have seriously disrupted the schedule,” notes the ruling. 

One resident and a local non-profit organisation were unsuccessful in their claims for compensation because they were unable to provide sufficient evidence of the damage they had suffered. 

An appeal may still be lodged against the judgment.