located?

Spatial planning

Of the 42,000 hectares of arable land that is still available in Flanders, more than 28,000 hectares would be better left undeveloped. Over the past ten years, construction has mainly taken place in poorly located locations.

Do more with less space, that is the credo of the Flemish government. Of the 42,000 hectares of still available building land in Flanders, three quarters are located in a location that is “undesirable to develop”. This is stated in a new report by Ghent University and the Voorland study agency on behalf of the Environment Department.

Of the still available building land, 24,000 hectares, or 58 percent, are completely outside the current villages or industrial estates. The other plots are located near other buildings, but a quarter of them are situated in poorly located places: far from residential areas, schools or shops, in the middle of rural areas or difficult to reach. Together, this concerns three quarters of the available building land that would be better left undeveloped, the report states. Only 13,206 of the 42,000 hectares are suitable in all respects.

According to the report, what has been added in the past ten years is also often in bad locations. Of the 9,600 hectares of free space that has been built on, 6,294 hectares lay outside the centres. This concerns 85 percent single-family homes and 15 percent apartments.

Of what has not yet been built, 70 percent is technically ready for construction. Located on a equipped road or in a subdivision. Enough for 700,000 new-build homes and therefore “more than sufficient to meet future housing needs,” says the Environment Department. But it comes with a warning: “The 24,000 hectares that are spread out in open space and ribbons, not close to public transport or facilities, should actually be able to be protected from development.” The Flemish government approved a decree in July last year that has already put 10,000 of those 42,000 hectares “under a bell jar”. Only with an explicit decision can the municipality still declare them ready for construction. (kba) By 2040, no more net free space may be taken up by the construction shift.

“The task now lies in limiting further fragmentation of open space,” says Ann Heylens of the Environment Department. “Compared to rural Flanders, the density of new construction projects in the village and city centers is twice as high, with 32 addresses per hectare compared to 16 addresses per hectare.” The Environment Department points out that almost 5,000 hectares are well located and ready for construction, but have not yet been built on. “They are not coming onto the market, possibly due to speculation or because people want to keep them in the family,” it said.