New shopping centres: Uplace or Neo but not both, says Vervoort

The Brussels-Capital Region has room for one new major shopping centre but not two, according to minister-president Rudi Vervoort. “I don’t think Neo and Uplace can exist side by side,” he said. “There is only room in the market for one project of that size, and, in my opinion, it will be Neo.”

Neo is the project backed by Brussels-City, planned for the Heizel plateau and consisting of shops, a congress centre and housing. Uplace is a private project in Machelen, just outside Brussels, featuring shops, a hotel and entertainment complex. A third project, Docks Bruxsel, at the Van Praet bridge on the border of Schaarbeek and Laken, is also under construction.

Vervoort considers Docks Bruxsel to be in another category. “Docks is not only smaller, it’s offering something different,” he said. “In Brussels, major brands not found elsewhere in Belgium will only be found at Neo.” Docks is aimed more at city residents, he said, while Neo and Uplace, both situated on the ring road, will attract a large part of their clientele from outside Brussels.

Uplace has borne the brunt of most of the criticism, including legal challenges based on the effect of the complex on the environment, on mobility around the capital and on town centres from Vilvoorde to Leuven. Neo, which is chaired by former Brussels mayor (and Vervoort’s party colleague) Freddie Thielemans, has escaped similar criticism, although last month the Council of State expressed concern about amendments made to the regional plan for the project. It, too, contains too few guarantees for mobility and environment, the Council said.

Vervoort said he expected that the two projects will strike a deal under which only one will remain. Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois, whose government has approved the Uplace plans, did not react to Vervoort’s comments.

Photo: Architectural impression of Neo