Wevelgem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Wevelgem plans a €99 million investment over 5 years. Main projects are €14 million for the Gullegem centre, Moorsele green zones, and Masterplan 2.0 redevelopments. Mayor Jan Seynhaeve and Alderman Lobe Maes oversee tax changes.
As VRT News reported, the municipality of Wevelgem, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium, has set out a record €99 million investment plan for the next 5 years. The council approved the programme after a long period of public consultation that included meetings, surveys, and talks with local groups.
Mayor Jan Seynhaeve (CD8V):
“We invested a year of energy in developing the multi-year plan, with input from citizens through the survey, advisory councils and associations, and the opposition. More constructive proposals were made than were Groen, Vooruit, and N-VA-though Vlaams Belang was not.”
What are Wevelgem’s €99 Million plans for Gullegem and Moorsele?
The plan responds to clear requests from residents for better public areas and stronger community facilities. A major part of the budget, €14 million, will go to the renewal of Gullegem’s town centre. The project includes the new De Cerf community centre, updated public spaces, and safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
Moorsele will also see major changes, with new green zones planned for its town centre. The municipality expects the improvements to benefit Wevelgem, Gullegem, and Moorsele in the coming years.
The centre of Wevelgem will undergo major changes under Masterplan 2.0, which guides the redevelopment for the coming years. The old sports hall will be replaced by a new event hall that can support a wide range of activities. The courtyard behind JC Ten Goudberge will be redesigned with more green space and new walking areas. The existing cemetery will be turned into a park cemetery with more trees.
The municipality is also preparing several tax adjustments linked to the new planning period. The corporate tax will be removed, while the property tax will be updated for large companies. Households will see a change in the annual municipal tax, which will rise from €75 to €100.
“For the first time, we are taking into account single people with or without children. They will continue to pay 75 euros,”
says Alderman for Finance Lobe Maes (CD&V).
Masterplan 2.0 is part of Wevelgem’s new multi-year planning cycle, which follows the standard local schedule that runs from 2020 to 2025. The first version of the town-centre plan was drafted in the previous council term, with early studies on mobility and public space carried out between 2019 and 2021. Work on the updated plan began in 2022, followed by a series of public sessions and neighbourhood meetings in 2023 and 2024.
