Fuse: ‘Reopening conditions are not what we had’
If the Brussels nightclub moves within this and two years, the Fuse may reopen two days a week. De Fuse opposes the ‘very strict conditions’ imposed by the Brussels Region.
Brussels Environment has its decision on Wednesday about the nuisance caused by the Fuse discotheque. The techno temple is allowed to open again two days a week as a nightclub until the early hours. An important condition is that the Fuse moves within ten last two years, or that the discotheque completely solves the acoustic problems during that time. Through its Instagram account, Fuse reacts negatively to the conditions imposed by the Brussels Region. The nightclub talks about “very restrictive terms that are not familiar with what we had proposed and what was decided – we thought – during our discussions with them.”
Fuse is opposed to the fact that the volume of the music should be even lower than 95 decibels in the first and last hours of the evening. Only in the middle of the night can we play music at a reasonable volume.
Although Brussels Environment seemed to indicate in its communication that Fuse itself had proposed to move within two years, this does not seem to be the case for the nightclub. It states that ‘a long-term vision is urgently needed to ensure the continued existence of the Fuse in the Blaesstaat’.
However, Brussels Environment reported the following earlier in the evening: ‘After Fuse had proposed to move within two years, Brussels Environment is reviewing the conditions that have been lifted at the Brussels nightclub’. Fuse would be given the opportunity for the starting two years to carry out insulating works and absorb the nuisance, otherwise the club would have to move. The nightclub had previously indicated that new analogue activities are unfeasible and unaffordable. So start a move in the making.
The Brussels Environment Minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) also seems to be assuming that scenario. He already called for a task force to ‘support the move of the Fuse to a place in the center of Brussels’. According to Maron, a location must be sought that assumes ‘optimum operation’ for the fuse, but at the same time the nuisance is minimal.
Permit
With the conditions, Brussels Environment hopes to strike a balance between the economic and cultural character of the Fuse and the well-being of the local residents. ‘The aim was not to close the institution, but to reduce the noise level for local residents,’ says Brussels Environment. The new conditions of Brussels Environment allow higher noise standards at certain times. For example, loud music may be played on the ground floor and on the first floor. The permit does not allow noise on the second floor. The Fuse may be open at least two days a week, with a maximum of ninety events per year, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Two weeks ago, Fuse itself unexpectedly announced via its social media that it was implementing a technical closure. Following a complaint from a neighbour, Brussels Environment had decided that the disco could only stay open until 02:00 at night and that the noise standard of 95 decibels could not be exceeded.
Immediately after the news of the closure of the Fuse two weeks ago, the Brussels By Night Federation started an online petition called ‘Save the Fuse’. It collected tens of thousands of signatures.