Parckfarm in Brussels to become permanent
The urban park and community meeting space that started as a pop-up two years ago will receive a permanent planning permit, the city council of Molenbeek has announced
Sheep in the city
Parckfarm, attached to the Tour & Taxis site in Brussels, includes a greenhouse, vegetable garden, wood-fired oven and chicken run. When it was put together in 2014, it was meant to be temporary. But the success of the initiative in bringing people from the community together has been considered invaluable.
The park was the idea of local people who were responding to a call from Parckdesign, a biennial urban planning programme. The site attracted much interest in the neighbourhood, with residents clearing rubbish, bringing in chickens, beehives and even sheep. They organised events in the greenhouse, which doubles as a meeting place (pictured) and around the massive communal table.
The temporary permit for the project was extended for a year, and now Molenbeek councillor Olivier Mahy has said that the council intended to follow the advice of the committee and approve a permanent permit. “Over the last two years, Parckfarm has become extremely important to people using the park and to local associations that use the greenhouse,” he said.
During a public consultation round, the local council received 65 letters and nearly 1,500 signatures in favour of maintaining the project.
Photo courtesy Parckfarm T&T
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