New urban farming greenhouse at Bockstael

The City of Brussels remains committed to healthy, local and sustainable food. With the Food for change project, it is working on the goal of further valorizing existing urban agriculture ((collective) vegetable gardens and compost) and finding more available land for prospective gardeners. The ambition is to create urban vegetable gardens where possible and relevant.

Within the Bockstael Sustainable District Contract, the areas around the former station in Laken have been designated as a possible location for a horticultural greenhouse. The planned layout of this greenhouse is based on several examples and testimonials collected during the preparation of the preliminary project. These testimonials show that people would like to see the new greenhouse as a central location for urban agriculture in the Bockstael district.

The greenhouse wants to offer maximum surface area for planting in open ground. In addition, space is provided with a technical base and space for cultivation preparation: seedlings, repotting, storage,... In addition, the greenhouse must be accessible to the neighborhood and a place that can receive people for different types of events such as workshops, training, meetings/reception, cooking activities, parties,...

The Sustainable Development Service of the City of Brussels has started a participatory process to get extra input for the development of the greenhouse. That process consists of several stages (approximate timetable in brackets):

Determining and empowering the needs of local residents (1 June - 15 June 2020)
Identify possible operators of the greenhouses and determine the method of cooperation (15 June - 22 June 2020)
Proposal of different scenarios for the operation of the greenhouse (22 June - 24 August 2020)
Detailed analysis of the chosen solution (24 August - 6 September 2020)
Submission of an application for a building permit for the redevelopment of the area around the former train station in Laken (September 2020)

The preliminary design and the permit application were prepared by MSA, Ney & Partner and Bloc Paysages. A team consisting of External site Urban Ecology and OSMOS guides the City of Brussels in the reflection on the operation of the greenhouse.

The thinking process around the operation of the greenhouse is based on the ideas and needs of the actors of the neighborhood. These ideas have become clear through the various forums of the Sustainable District Contract and the study of the preliminary project.

Between June and September 2020, the actors from the district will be invited to work out the project. Citizens and organizations can give their opinion through conversations, a stand at the Parvis Notre-Dame in Laeken and participatory workshops with potential greenhouse operators.