But since then, the club has not experienced the same success for its future stadium as the successes gleaned at the Marien stadium. The Union had hit a wall in negotiating with the Ecolo/PS majority in Forest, especially around the purchase of the land in question, located next to the Bempt sports complex. Proof of these tensions, the club slammed the door on negotiations last summer, indicating that it was waiting for the elections for this to be resolved.
The most important match of the Union Saint-Gilloise season will be played this Sunday… at the polls: what future for the stadium after the vote
Since then, discussions have resumed… with the same partners. Ecolo and PS still part of the Forest college, joined by the PTB. Enough to bury the Union project? Not really. Despite the return of the same interlocutors, the balance of power in Forest has changed. The mayor’s seat passing from the Greens to the Socialists. An opinion shared by the Union, which says it is optimistic for the future. The discussions would be constructive, and past blockages no longer seem insurmountable.
The stadium project is also mentioned in the majority agreement. The members of the coalition maintain and affirm their wish to see the Union Saint-Gilloise club remain in Forest. “This file will be handled by the College while respecting defined guidelines, such as maintaining permanent access to sports centers, taking into account environmental and hydrological issues, mobility, nuisances for local residents as well as relocation of infrastructure. sports and public events present on the site”underlined Mayor Charles Spapens during the presentation of the new majority.
Among these benchmarks, numerous studies have already been carried out by the Union. The municipality wants the club to study the hydrological characteristics of the site, the Bempt being located at the bottom of the valley and therefore in a flood zone. A request which may surprise, but which must in all cases be studied when applying for planning permission. The latter will therefore make it possible to answer the questions and concerns of the municipality, before the municipal council decides, and the future of the land, and therefore of the project, is sealed.
On the Union side, this hydrological study does not seem to pose a problem. The Saint-Gillois were committed to building a “green” stadium, meeting modern challenges. “We are convinced that our project will answer the hydrological questions for the site, as desired by the municipality”specifies the club.
Discussions continue between the forest authorities and the Union. The possibility of the Forest club leaving for the outskirts of Brussels is no longer considered at all, preferring to concentrate its forces to achieve a project that suits everyone on the Bempt site.
