The much-discussed reconstruction of the Waterloolaan and the Gulden-Vlieslaan in Brussels may have to wait a little longer. The Q8 filling station on the Kleine Ring may throw a spanner in the works now that the operator is going to the Council of State after the refusal of an environmental permit, although the Brussels government is not worried. “There is no room for a gas station in the plans for the reconstruction.”
After much consultation, protest and the necessary adjustments, the reconstruction project for the Waterloolaan and the Gulden-Vlieslaan was given the green light last summer.
The plans for the green city promenade between Louise and the Porte de Namur include pedestrian paths of eight meters and two-way cycle paths of up to four meters. The two lanes between the Cliquet roundabout and Place Louise on Boulevard de Waterloo will be maintained. Nearly 50 trees would also be planted.
Charging stations for electric cars
The green plans of Brussels Minister of Mobility Elke Van den Brandt (Green) and State Secretary for Urban Planning Pascal Smet (one.brussels-Vooruit), who renamed the renovated city avenues the ‘Brussels Champs-Elysées’, seemed bad news at first glance for the Q8 gas station, which has had a very visible presence on the Waterloolaan for many years.
However, the gas station responded to the plans by proposing a metamorphosis: there would be two charging stations for electric cars, accompanied by one terminal that will remain operational for petrol and diesel cars.
Furthermore, solar panels would also be installed on the awning and it was examined whether electric bicycles could also be part of the future gas station after the reconstruction of the Waterloolaan and the Gulden-Vlieslaan.
In this way, the greened gas station could have a place in the city promenade, the operator hoped.
However, it has now become known that the environmental permit has been refused and that Q8, the operator of the filling station, is appealing against that decision to the Council of State.
‘No space for gas station’
We are now waiting for the ruling of the Council of State, but the Brussels government sounds confident about the chances of success of the plans. “The permit for the reconstruction has been issued and there is no room for a gas station in those plans,” says a member of the government.
The gas station has been closed since March 2022.
