Brussels mayor calls for faster issuing of permits for Heysel plateau project

The mayor of the City of Brussels, Philippe Close, has expressed his wish that the Brussels region would give a boost to the issuing of permits for the Neo 1 project to redevelop part of the Heysel plateau.

This project, which includes the construction of a shopping centre, nearly 600 housing units, a leisure centre and a new film complex, is currently at a standstill, in part because the required licensing procedure has been seriously delayed.

The prior authorisation for an amendment to the Regional Soil Allocation Plan (PRAS), which is essential to obtain the required planning permissions, has been overturned by the Council of State, on an appeal by residents. The Master Development Plan being developed on the Region's side to get round this is not yet ready.

The City of Brussels decided last October to abandon the second part of the Neo project, namely the construction of a convention centre and a hotel, whose funding was dependent on Neo 1. This led to speculation that the Unibail-Rodamco-Besix-CFE consortium, chosen in 2012 to deliver Neo1, would leave the project.

One of the terms of the contract linking the consortium to the Brussels government is for the issuance of permits by 31 December. If these are not awarded, the consortium could withdraw and claim damages for the millions of euros already invested since being awarded the project eight years ago.

The main investor, Unibail, holds its general meeting on Tuesday during which it will discuss the situation and the current financial difficulty it finds itself in - which could lead to a review of its investment plans. The company’s share price has been in decline for several years, a downward trend that has been accentuated by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Tuesday's general meeting does not change much with regard to the Neo project,” a spokesperson for Close said. “The debate focuses on the company’s de-leveraging methodology through a capital increase or the sale of US assets, not on European projects. The situation is unchanged for Neo."

“It is true that if we want to show that we are a capital city that is developing, the Region must give a boost to the issuance of permits," the spokesperson concluded. “Together the City and the region must quickly find urban solutions for the project to take place."