In the battle for the Bois de la Cambre, the municipality of Uccle has again summoned the City of Brussels. In this way, Uccle hopes that the western part of the forest can once again be fully open to car traffic. “If there was trust, we would never go to court.”
The municipality of Uccle has summoned the City of Brussels and wants a lawsuit on the merits about the Bois de la Cambre. That is what Le Soir and L’Echo write and the mayor of Uccle Boris Dilliès (MR) confirms to BRUZZ. The Bois de la Cambre is located on the territory of the City of Brussels. It closed the entire forest to motorized traffic at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, a decision justified by the mandatory telework.
When only the northern part of the forest, via Dianalaan to Belle Alliancelaan, was opened, the municipality of Uccle went to the Brussels court for the first time. The court with Uccle and obliged the City of Brussels to open the southern road to cars via the Terhulpsesteenweg, the Lorrainedreef and the Bosvoordselaan. The City also did that in December 2020.
That same situation was repeated today. The City of Brussels appealed, but lost again. With the opening of the south loop, the verdict is respected, but now that there is more car traffic, Mayor Dilliès thinks it is still insufficient. According to him, the current arrangement is causing too many traffic jams in the surrounding neighbourhoods, including on Waterloosesteenweg.
Western Part
“At the last meeting, we asked to allow traffic again on the western part, but the City of Brussels has not complied with this. That is why we are now going to court,” said Dilliès. He hopes that the Panorama and Groendaalselaan will be reopened to car traffic through a new legal procedure. “That will be necessary, especially when working from home is no longer mandatory.”
“If the south loop is open, it’s because we won in court. If there was trust, we would never go to court.”
In addition to the opening of the western part, Dilliès hopes that a legal expert will be appointed through the judicial procedure. He should check the work of the consultancy appointed by the City of Brussels. According to Dilliès, this is necessary to guarantee the objectivity of the consultancy.
‘No trust’
“I remain open to dialogue. There is a platform for consultation with the Region, Ixelles and Watermael-Boitsfort. The MR of Uccle has already announced that they no longer want to be part of this dynamic, which I regret,” said the Mayor of the City of Brussels Close in Le Soir. “If Close says I don’t want to sit at the table anymore, he’s lying,” Dilliès says. “The last meeting came at my initiative.”
According to the mayor of Uccle, the meetings about the Ter Kamerenbos were not “consultation meetings, but information meetings.” “If the south loop is open, it’s because we won in court. If there was trust, we would never go to court. The City of Brussels will only understand when it loses in court.”
