Bad time for trees in Antwerp: Relocated ancient oak dying, neighbours fight against felling of 111 trees in Deurne

Try not to be a tree in Deurne: Following the felling of 50 large, mature trees in a residential area last summer, the Antwerp district has announced that more than 100 trees will be cut down further north along the Ter Rivierenlaan. That streets feeds directly into the Rivierenhof provincial domain.

“So many people who live here just love these trees in our street, so this is difficult for us to accept,” says Lily Smeyers of the protest group Allez Allée. The trees have to go, according to the city council, to make way for redevelopment of the street, which will also see parking places disappear and the addition of a median strip. “We like our street the way it is,” adds resident Claude Boelens.

The plans are especially painful because they are the same plans that were rescinded three years ago. “The plan we have been fighting for three years has simply been resubmitted,” says Smeyers. “The trees are a source of biodiversity, shade and cooling. In a period where we are facing climate change, there must be other solutions.”

The plans stipulate that more than 150 new trees will be planted, but residents point out that young trees do not provide the same benefits as older, established trees. “We’ll have to wait 10 years for any shade at all,” notes Smeyers. “And there is no guarantee that these new trees will become mature trees.”

According to Deurne mayor Tjerk Sekeris (N-VA), the sewer system in the street must also be replaced, complicating the works. “We have look at all possible solutions, but there simply aren’t any. So the trees need to go.”

The decision was also made in keeping with advice from the fire brigade, he says. “They need to be able to access a minimum of 10 meters of space in front of houses, and there needs to be 14 meters between the crowns of trees. Also the norms for pavements and streets must be considered. I am not going to ignore advice from the fire department.”

Residents can still lodge objections to the plans and ultimately appeal at the provincial or even regional level. 

Meanwhile, a few kilometres northeast of Deurne in Brasschaat, a 150-year-old oak appears to be dying following being relocated by about 100 meters. The tree was relocated in the spring of 2025 to make way for a new development project on Bredabaan.

The tree currently is maintaining less than 10% of its original canopy. “That’s not going to change,” says tree technician Jotie De Meyer of ecological advice bureau Landmax. He points to the dry conditions last spring when the tree was uprooted. “The branches that are now dried out are never going to recuperate.”

Still, he says it’s not impossible that the tree itself will survive. “It doesn’t look good, but trees are extremely resilient. It’s possible that the crown will recover, but it will take decades to get back to where it was.”