The Brussels government has approved proposals for the construction of an indoor and outdoor swimming pool on the roof of the Manufakture Building on the site of Anderlecht Abattoir. The Flemish government too will contribute 3.4 million towards the cost.
“It’s a wonderful Christmas present for all the people of Brussels”. This is how Pascal Smet, the Brussels urban planning state secretary, welcomed the news that at long last Brussels was to get an outdoor swimming pool of its own.
Hopes for a swimming pool on the site of the Anderlecht Abattoir have been around for a while. Last year the Brussels government commissioned a feasibility study to examine the best way of creating a swimming pool on the roof of the Manufakture Building. In February 2022 the government also issued a building licence for the Manufakture approving investment grants of 2.1 million euros to strengthen the structure of the warehouse in order to allow the building of an open-air swimming pool on the roof.
The Brussels Urban Building Company will now look at how the project can be realised and examine how the swimming pool could be run.
The space is already being used by food producing and processing companies. They use a lot of refrigeration that releases heat. It’s heat that will be used to create a pleasant water temperature the office of Brussels urban planning secretary Smet explains.
The swimming pool project is set to cost 20.2 million euros. In addition to the Flemish government cash, the Flemish community commission in Brussels, the municipality of Anderlecht and the European Fund for Regional Development are among the authorities expected to help foot the bill.
State secretary Smet believes the pool is the start of a larger story and is also releasing cash for Pool is Cool, an organisation that promotes outdoor swimming in the Flemish and Belgian capital.
Construction of the pool should be complete by 2025 or 2026.