200-plus trees to be cut down for construction project in Oudergem
A real estate development in the Brussels municipality of Oudergem requires 239 trees to be felled. Two thirds were cut down on Wednesday, despite three years of opposition from people living in the area.
Planning permission was granted in 2023 for Coté Colline, a 12,000 square metre real estate complex made up of 58 homes and three commercial spaces: one for Aldi on Waversesteenweg and two elsewhere on the plot.
More than 200 trees, mainly pine, black locust and maple, will have to make way for the construction, Bruzz reports. Two thirds have now gone, with the rest due to be felled in September.
Since the first public enquiry in 2021, the Save Bergoje Trees collective has launched two petitions and appealed to the Council of State against the development. “Our point is that many trees are disappearing and only a few are being replaced,” said Valérie De Smet of the collective.
The HELP4Trees collective analysed data from the Openpermits website and found that 62,000 trees have been cut down over the past 13 years in the Brussels region without sufficient replanting. More than 25,000 were felled in the past five years.
Our point is that many trees are disappearing and only a few are being replaced
The authorities in Oudergem approved the project because it promises more public green space, according to councillor Alain Lefebvre of DéFi. He said the development would make more room for biodiversity and that the pines the collective wants to protect were only planted to stabilise the soil.
“Greater biodiversity? The promoter has not even examined the current biodiversity,” the Save Bergoje Trees said. “There are major errors in their documentation. The study focused exclusively on plants, without paying attention to animals. The part that was not cut down clearly shows two fox dens and nests in trees.”