Els Ampe does not agree with construction project on Donderberg site | Brussels
Bed sheetThe Brussels municipal councilor Els Ampe (Open VLD) also does not agree with the construction project on the Donderberg site in Laken. The City of Brussels wants to set up a French-language school there. According to her, it is irresponsible to create an extra heat island with the current temperatures.
The Donderberg site has been the subject of debate for several years, since the purchase of the site by the City of Brussels. Following resistance from local residents, under the collective ‘Save Donderberg’, new plans were developed for the site in 2018. A French-language school would eventually be built there with a facade of 100 meters long. “Hallucinant”, according to the Brussels councilor Els Ampe.
“The neighborhood around the Donderberg site is very densely populated, with little access to green areas,” she explains. “The construction project of the site also a heat island, would make the current temperatures incomprehensible.” But the surfacing of the site also carries other risks, according to Ampe. “The residents in that neighbourhood, around the Sint-Annadreef and the Groenvinkstraat, regularly have to deal with flooding. At the Heysel, which is higher, there is also a construction project. In case of heavy rainfall, the water flows towards the Donderberg site. For the time being, it can still swallow some water, but that will no longer be possible when the site is paved.”
This would lead to more flooding and water damage to local residents. “The City has been a water basin for years, but that has not yet come to fruition. They are transferring the responsibility to other municipalities.” That is why Ampe will question the mayor and the council of aldermen during the next meeting on 5 September. “Hopefully they will listen this time. It sometimes seems like they are changing the effects of climate change,” she concludes.
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