Hoeilaart (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Hoeilaart and Mayor Tim Vandenput reject the Regional Plan, opposing the expensive tunnel project and turning 20 hectares of farmland into forest and threaten legal action to protect local interests.
As VRT News reported, the town of Hoeilaart, a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium, has said no to the Regional Plan because they are worried about the new tunnel they want to build. This tunnel would go under the train tracks and connect the Terhulpensesteenweg with the Groenendaalsesteenweg.
They mentioned that the goal is to make it easier for cars to move around. But the mayor, Tim Vandenput, says the plan doesn’t prove that the tunnel will help people in Hoeilaart get around better. The plan only looks at one possible way to solve traffic problems, and the town thinks that’s not enough for a project that will cost so much money and be so big.
“Building an expensive tunnel without proven mobility gains? We say a clear no to that”
Mayor Tim Vandenput (Team 1560)
What makes Hoeilaart say no to the tunnel and farmland-to-forest plan?
Hoeilaart also thinks the tunnel is too expensive and isn’t sure it will help traffic. The town worries that money will be spent on a big project without really fixing traffic or making it easier for people to get to work and run errands. Because there isn’t enough proof that the tunnel will work, Hoeilaart is saying no to the plan.
The town wants any big building project to be backed up by good studies that show it will actually help, not just one idea that doesn’t answer all the questions. By saying no, Hoeilaart wants to save its people from wasting money and making bad choices about how the town is planned.
Hoeilaart is against the Flemish Region’s plan to turn 20 hectares of farmland into a forest. This is supposed to make up for cutting down trees for big projects like the Leontinotunnel and roads. The town agrees that new forests are important.
But they say it doesn’t make sense to use farmland, especially when we worry about having enough food and supporting local farmers. They think farmland is very important for the area’s future and that there are other ways to create forests without affecting local food production.
The town of Hoeilaart has officially told the Flemish Region they don’t like the forest plan. They want the decision-makers to think again about where to put the new forest. The local government has also said it will take legal action if the Flemish Region allows the tunnel work or the forest on the farmland. Hoeilaart’s leaders are ready to use all legal options to protect the farmland, which they see as vital for the local economy and society.
