Belgium/In Waremme, the Bois de la Tannerie escapes concrete and becomes the green link between neighborhoods

Published on 11/07/2025 | La rédaction

Belgium

Long threatened by a housing project far too big for it, the "Bois de la Tannerie", at the gateway to Waremme, will finally be preserved.

The town now wants to safeguard this corner of nature, offering residents a space for relaxation and discovery.

But the new project is part of a broader vision: to reconnect neighborhoods through a green fabric.

Today, 85% of the wooded area is preserved.

A little piece of forest in the middle of the city. We are in Waremme, in the Bois de la Tannerie. As Mayor Raphaël Dubois explains: "The town has always wanted to preserve the woods. Today, we're preserving 85% of the wooded area, so we can say that it's mission accomplished on our side."

Gone is the former massive real estate project, replaced by a light, educational and ecosystem-friendly development. "It's a real relief because, basically, it was a question of razing a large part of the wood to make a complex of habitats and services," explains Hugues Vandensavel, of the Communal Nature Development Plan. "Here, we're happy because the project has been scaled back considerably, and this means we can have the wood pass into municipal territory, which will enable us to have a better look at and manage the site."

A green link between neighborhoods

And in the future, this wood will provide a link between neighborhoods thanks to soft mobility. "It's really the junction between the town center and the slightly more country side of the town of Waremme, with the pond, the swimming pool, the playground. So it's really a central and essential place for the town," comments Olivier Dumont, alderman for the environment.

A choice also welcomed by his urban planning colleague, Julien Humblet. "With this green lung, we're going to be able to keep this island, this area of refuge for quite a few plants, quite a few animals too. It's a little extra, a small drop in the ocean, but I think it will do everyone a world of good," he enthuses.

The first developments are expected next year.

Gone will be the massive real estate project of the past, replaced by a light, educational development that respects the ecosystem. " It's a real relief, because the original plan was to raze a large part of the wood to make it into a complex of habitats and services," explains Hugues Vandensavel, from the Plan communal de développement de la nature. "Here, we're happy because the project has been scaled back considerably, and this means we can have the wood pass through municipal territory, which will enable us to have a better look at and manage the site."