The Province of West Flanders approves the demolition and reconstruction of the former Hotel du Louvre in Ostend

Local residents had lodged an appeal with the deputation against the environmental permit, granted by the City of Ostend on 6 May 2022.

The application includes the construction of a multi-family house with 8 residential units after the demolition of the existing buildings, while retaining the historic facade and the renovation of an existing single-family house with commercial space.

History

The file has a long history. Since the sale of the property in 2004 by the city, several permit applications have already been submitted. Due to the long vacancy, the building is also in a poor physical condition. The deputation granted the permit for the demolition and reconstruction in both 2015 and 2018. Each time the permit was canceled by the council for permit disputes. Now the deputation is granting the license by degree of appeal for the third time.

Favorable advice

The municipal heritage committee advised favorably for the demolition and reconstruction of the building. The deputation also ruled that the demolition and reconstruction is acceptable. It provides a new use for a building that has been empty for a long time. The cemented facade finish that is characteristic of this heritage building is accurately measured and rebuilt identically. In this way, the architectural value of the facade is preserved within the streetscape. This is also included as an explicit condition in the environmental permit.

The professionals were particularly concerned about loss of light and additional visibility from the back. During the procedure, the plans were slightly amended to accommodate these comments. The deputation ruled that the nuisance that professionals may experience is normal and acceptable in an urban context.

Based on these arguments, the deputation decided to confirm the decision of the city of Ostend and to grant the environmental permit.