Molenbeek disappointed over region's permits in canal area

A decision by the Brussels-Capital Region government to prolong environmental permits for seven used car import and export businesses located along the Brussels canal is likely to wreck plans for creating a new waterside neighbourhood, the municipality of Molenbeek has complained.

The Heyvaert quarter is known as a central location in the used car trade. Some 120,000 cars pass through the area every year, most of them on their way to Africa via Zeebrugge – and not all of them with legal documentation.

Molenbeek city council’s plan, which had the backing of the region, is to allow the dealers’ permits to expire, which would lead to an exodus from the neighbourhood. The car dealers would then be replaced by homes, a school and a covered city garden.

In recent days, however, seven dealers have received prolongations of their permits for four or five years. The dealers represent 14% of the total of garage space in the quarter, enough for more than 400 cars.

Molenbeek refused to extend the permits, and the dealers appealed to the region. The region accepted the appeal, arguing that it could only refuse on environmental grounds, not because of urban planning.

“Without the departure of the car trade, it’s not possible to breathe new life into the area,” Molenbeek councillor Olivier Mahy told Bruzz. “There are some projects in the pipeline that are in buildings still owned by the dealers. We need the goodwill of the region now, not in five years. That’s an eternity for the people of the neighbourhood.”

Photo courtesy kanaal.biz