On the proposal of the Minister for Town and Country Planning, Willy BORSUS, the Walloon Government has approved the final version of the Territorial Development Scheme (SDT). This document, which sets Wallonia's territorial strategy for the coming years, had not been amended for 25 years. The Government has therefore today approved a version that takes into account the considerations and comments arising from the public inquiry, notably from Cities and Municipalities.
The Territorial Development Scheme (SDT) sets out Wallonia's territorial strategy. It guides regional and municipal decisions on town planning and land use. The plan adopted today proposes concrete measures to optimise the territory by controlling land sealing and tackling urban sprawl.
It had not been updated for 25 years.
The SDT includes 20 regional objectives for territorial development and planning aimed at:
- spatial optimisation
- socio-economic development and territorial attractiveness
- the quality management of living environments
- managing mobility
The Territorial Development Scheme is organised around a number of, sometimes innovative, territorial concepts:
- centralities
- centrality cores
- structuring centrality axes
- outlying areas
- outlying cores
- the poles
- development areas
- communication and transport axes and networks
The SDT seeks to address the following twelve societal challenges:
- Guarantee development and prosperity for all territories
- Fight inequalities
- Adapt to the effects of climate change and reduce its causes
- Meet housing and local service needs
- Position Wallonia on the European map
- Improve the health and wellbeing of all
- Decarbonise mobility and deploy balanced mobility tailored to each territory's specific features
- Ensure access to low-carbon energy
- Develop, restore and preserve biodiversity
- Prioritise the circular economy
- Live with uncertainties and change
- Act collectively and in a coordinated way
As a reminder, the reform of the CoDT (Territorial Development Code) came into force on 1st April. This reform sets out the main principles and new concepts of territorial development, to be further developed in the Territorial Development Scheme (SDT). In short, the CoDT sets out the main principles and the SDT adopted today specifies how these will be achieved.
A new concept: centrality
The text introduces the concept of centralities as the cornerstone of a new town planning policy that preferentially directs projects towards the best-equipped locations. By 2050, 3 out of every 4 new homes built will have to be located within a centrality.
Cities and Municipalities will have the opportunity to define their own centralities, not only their boundaries but also the rules that apply within them.
These will indeed be determined by Cities and Municipalities in their municipal or multi-municipal development schemes. The deadline for defining these centralities has moreover been extended from 5 to 6 years in this new version.
If Cities and Municipalities fail to establish centralities, the centralities listed in the SDT will apply.
Cities and Municipalities will of course be supported through various forms of assistance and tools to do so.
New version following the public inquiry
The draft SDT was subject to a public inquiry from 30 May 2023 to 14 July 2023. The 1,430 comments received (245 of which came from Cities and Municipalities) were catalogued, processed and summarised into guidelines grouped into 16 themes within the SDT.
The text adopted today by the Government therefore responds to the comments and considerations arising from the opinions of the bodies consulted, municipal councils and citizens.
It grants significant autonomy to local authorities, notably in two areas: the definition of centralities and retail policy.
A new balance between Cities and villages
The major changes listed below were made compared to the initial version.
A rebalancing was carried out to take rural areas more fully into account in territorial development.
To this end:
- the supporting role of rural areas for Wallonia is reaffirmed in a new ambition for Wallonia. This new ambition underlines Wallonia's vision for these territories, particularly in socio-economic terms (local produce, local processing, etc.), residential development (strengthening centralities and consolidating outlying cores), and agriculture (reducing pressure on farmland, valuing its food-producing function);
- the polycentric nature of certain municipalities (i.e. several villages/districts within the same entity) is recognised in the SDT, thereby making it possible to take into account different territorial realities, particularly rural ones, and so strengthen territorial cohesion and quality of life.
More developed “outlying cores”
Alongside this new notion of “polycentrism”, the concept of outlying cores has been further developed. As a reminder, these are Cities and villages not classified as centralities that display a form of compact urbanisation, which concentrate, at the level of the municipality and its former districts, a larger number of dwellings and which have local facilities and services and/or shops easily accessible by active modes of transport.
The Walloon Government wants to enable a consolidation of activities within outlying cores. A greater density than that set for outlying areas is therefore permitted within them, though lower than that allowed in centralities.
Municipalities can identify these cores in their own planning tools and provide for adapted and proportionate development within them.
In this way, the Walloon Government allows for greater precision in recognising different territorial realities, enabling local authorities to recognise certain villages/districts playing a particular role within the territory and to provide for adapted and proportionate development there. These cores can complement centralities and contribute to refocusing activities, limiting ribbon development and land sealing, and more generally to a more optimal organisation of the territory.
These amendments clearly reaffirm the importance of rurality in territorial development and make it possible to expressly recall that the trajectory of reducing land sealing will play a major role in preserving farmland and its food-producing function.
“If the aim of the SDT is to reduce urban sprawl and combat land sealing, we cannot deny the polycentric nature of our rural areas and the greater effort they must make to achieve, by 2050, the results already achieved by most major Walloon cities. That is why we must support them and give them more flexibility,” adds Willy BORSUS.
Several centralities within a single City/Municipality
It was decided to give Towns and Municipalities more flexibility regarding the creation of additional centralities beyond those already identified in the initial version of the SDT, particularly when they are not served by public transport. This is the case for certain more isolated villages, even though they offer facilities such as a school, a village hall, a local shop, sports infrastructure, a public green space, etc.
The Walloon Government has also proposed incorporating more forward-looking elements, allowing municipalities to apply centrality rules to a centre that will soon benefit from new services, facilities, shops or public green spaces.
And what about the big Cities?
A number of large cities have already reached the targets of the two trajectories on controlling land sealing and combating urban sprawl.
The Government nevertheless wishes to encourage these poles and (large) Cities to enhance or restore their attractiveness through their assets in terms of shops, services, tourism, active and public mobility, and public spaces that foster social cohesion.
If we want to achieve our targets on reducing urban sprawl and controlling land sealing, these Cities will necessarily need to offer an attractive living environment and quality housing.
Finally, the role of regional poles and the regional capital has been reaffirmed within the ambition concerning metropolitan development. The text specifies their roles, their main assets, and the positive spillover effects linked to cross-border dynamics within metropolitan development areas (Lille, Brussels, Aachen, Luxembourg City).
Retail developments now subject to a planning permit
The reform repeals the decree of 5 February 2015 on retail establishments. As a reminder, this competence was regionalised in 2014.
The transfer of this competence to the Regions and its practical implementation differed across the three Regions. At the time, the Walloon Region chose to keep the regulation of retail establishments separate from that of urban planning and environmental permits, by creating a specific planning and authorisation regime.
Between June 2015 and February 2022, 1,032 applications for retail establishment permits or integrated permits were submitted, resulting in 805 final decisions.
Municipal authority will now be distinguished depending on whether the project falls entirely within a centrality defined by a municipal scheme or not. In the first case, the municipal authority ceiling remains at 2,500 m2. In other cases, it is lowered to 1,500 m2 in order to promote a comprehensive approach to land use for projects that, by their nature, are more likely than others to have supra-municipal effects. Municipalities will also be able to require a permit for new shops from 200 m² upwards.
Between 2014 and 2017, the Walloon Region saw net retail space of more than 400 m² increase by 183,388 m2, i.e. +2.9% in three years.
Between 2019 and 2022, net retail floor space increased further still:
- 200 to 400 m² format: an additional 7,815 m² within commercial clusters (shops under 400 m² are not recorded outside these clusters);
- over 400 m² format: an additional 125,900 m² within and outside commercial clusters (exhaustive survey), i.e. +2.6% over three years;
- over 200 m² format: 7,815 + 125,900 = 133,715 m² additional.
It is also observed that net retail floor space over 200 m² is increasingly being established on the outskirts.
These figures reflect an oversupply of retail space in Wallonia.
The SDT will come into force on 1 August 2024.
“The implementation of these reforms is essential, and above all historic. They represent a fine balance between rural and urban areas. Together with the CoDT adopted last December, this is a major choice for the future of our Region and its living environment. We have taken our responsibilities, and that is exactly what was expected of us,” adds Willy BORSUS