Halle (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The “Our A8, Our Voice” committee in Halle, led by Wouter Janssens, opposes expropriation of 20+ homes, 3 businesses, and a football field in Essenbeek for temporary A8 motorway works.
As VRT News reported, the action committee “Our A8, Our Voice” has started a campaign against plans to take over homes in Essenbeek, Halle, for the A8 motorway reconstruction. The committee has also launched an online petition. It has already received nearly 800 signatures.
Wouter Janssens, one of the committee’s founders, said the community felt strong support during a recent food festival. Residents are standing together to protect their neighbourhood. They say the fight is about more than individual homes. It is about keeping the character of Essenbeek intact.
“A good 1,000 people came to dinner,”
Says Janssens.
“We also received hundreds of messages from people who were on vacation but still wanted to support us.”
What is Halle doing to stop 20+ expropriations for A8 work?
Janssens, the representative of the community, stated that people in the area are feeling frustrated with the manner in which De Werkvennootschap had been managing.
“The residents of Halle are outraged by how De Werkvennootschap is handling the case in Essenbeek. We are now extending that support with our petition,”
Janssens said.
“We continue to find it absurd that the lives of dozens of families in Essenbeek would be permanently destroyed for a temporary solution,”
Janssens added.
“That’s completely disproportionate.”
At the same time, the Halle city council, although not directly involved in the expropriation, has requested a further investigation by De Werkvennootschap to clarify the situation. Engineers are scheduled to provide an update to the city council tomorrow, Aug 26, 2025.
A public information session has been arranged for Saturday, September 6th, 2025, at Heilig-Hart & College. The event will take place between 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM and is intended to give residents a chance to ask questions, receive updates, and better understand the next steps in the expropriation process.
In early June 2025, residents were told that parts of their homes, garages, or gardens could be expropriated. More than 20 homes, 3 business premises, and a football field will be partially or fully expropriated to make space for the construction and temporary traffic diversion.
Residents immediately said they would resist. 2 weeks earlier, neighbours had organised a spaghetti dinner to raise money for legal support. The situation has brought tensions between road development and protecting private property into the spotlight. Families now face the challenge of protecting their homes and their community.
The Flemish government has announced plans to turn the A8 into a full motorway. The project aims to remove intersections with traffic lights, which are a frequent cause of accidents. These traffic lights also slow down vehicles, causing traffic jams along the road.
Drivers often use residential streets to bypass the congestion, which increases traffic in neighbourhoods and creates safety concerns for residents. In addition to removing the intersections, several on- and off-ramps along the A8 will also be eliminated. Authorities say these changes will improve traffic flow, reduce accidents, and create a more efficient route for motorists.
