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Brussels Governance Monitor

Urban Planning: faster permits and planning amnesty

Ongoing

This issue is progressing normally within the current framework.

Official source
Recently verified ·

The RPD provides for accelerated urban planning permits, a planning amnesty for historic violations, the removal of the CRMS binding opinion, and the revival of the Neo project at the Heysel.

Citizen participation
In brief (easy read)

The Region wants to speed up building permits, regularise old violations, and restart major projects like Neo at the Heysel.

Key figures

~18months (sector estimate)

Average planning permit processing time

Removedreplaced by advisory opinion

CRMS — binding opinion

RPD commitments

The Regional Policy Declaration devotes a significant section to urban planning and spatial development, with several structural reforms:

Faster permits

  • Shorter processing times for urban planning permits — target to halve the approval period
  • Simplified procedures for housing projects and energy renovations
  • Full digitalisation of the application process via urban.brussels
  • Fast-Track single window for the Urban Free Zones (Port of Brussels + Audi Forest site): centralised permit applications (planning, environment, aid) through a single entry point

Planning amnesty

  • Regularisation of historic violations — compliance mechanism for situations predating a cut-off date
  • Objective: reduce the backlog of infringement cases and provide legal certainty to property owners

CRMS reform

  • Removal of the binding opinion of the Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites, replaced by a simple advisory opinion
  • Objective: unblock renovation projects in protected areas without eliminating heritage protection

Major projects

  • Neo (Heysel) — revival of the congress and entertainment project on the Heysel plateau
  • Ongoing SDPs — continuation of Strategic Development Plans for key areas

Key agencies

  • urban.brussels — regional urban planning administration (permits, violations, SDPs)
  • perspective.brussels — territorial planning and impact studies
  • BMA (Bouwmeester Maître Architecte) — architectural quality of public projects
  • SAU (Urban Development Corporation) — development of regional sites

Sources and methodology

The commitments documented above come from the official RPD text and corroborating press sources covering the government agreement of 12 February 2026.

Inherited context (June 2024 – February 2026)

Key bodies (urban.brussels, BMA, Perspective, CRMS) continued operating in caretaker mode, but without new policy direction.

Read full context

What this means in practice

The RPD provides for faster urban planning permits (target: halve processing times), a planning amnesty and the revival of the Neo project at the Heysel. The removal of the CRMS binding opinion aims to unblock renovations in protected areas.

What BGM does not say

This card does not predict whether the government can reduce permit processing times. It documents the RPD commitments on urban planning. The impact of the amnesty and the removal of the CRMS opinion will depend on implementation details.

Sources

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