Fake environmentalism
Mouscron, environmentalism, concrete. Three terms that don't go together.
However, this forced marriage is a reality.
Since taking into account the environmental factor has become popular for our political decision-makers, the City of Mouscron hasn’t
stopped shouting from the rooftops that this city is becoming greener and greener and that great efforts are being made in terms of
biodiversity.
Of course, these are only political words that are necessarily false, or at the very least truncated.
We will contradict everything in the following lines.
A martyred green lung
Also, to support this (fake) environmentalism approach, the City of Mouscron has undertaken to maintain the venerable municipal park.
It must be said that the only green space worthy of the name in the city was left in a state of near abandonment for nearly 30 years.
Of course, it was necessary to intervene, in particular by cleaning out the ponds, but not just anyhow !
If we follow the program concocted by the City :
From Wednesday, May 15, 2024, the first part of the work to develop the basins will begin with the lowering of the water table.
The majority of the work will then take place from September 2024, for a final transformation and a magnificent landscape visible
in spring 2025, unless bad weather delays the work.
Here are the details of the work that is planned to redevelop the basins and for which the City of Mouscron is investing
some €777,000 of its own funds :
Sketches are never faithful to reality...
© City of Mouscron
- Lowering of the water table for work
- Securing the work
- Cleaning of basins and drying of sludge
- Restoration of banks and revegetation
- Removal of islands (management concerns and nesting site for Canada geese - invasive species)
- Reconstruction of the bridge in the form of a small esplanade with water level management system
- Water movement management system (pump) and waterfall near the kiosk
- River rehabilitation
- Cleaning and maintenance of the historic bridge
- Building a wooden bridge
- Vegetation and securing of the surroundings
“Looking forward” to seeing the result...
© City of Mouscron
So let's resume this beautiful program :
- Lowering of the water table for work : to do this, pumps are powered by a magnificent diesel generator that has been spewing its gases at face height since the beginning of June. When we are constantly told that we must be careful about harmful emissions, it is enough to make us laugh. In addition, the remaining birds have been left behind without a watering hole worthy of the name for months.
-
Cleaning of basins and drying of sludge : so, since the beginning of June, pumps have been trying to empty the ponds.
It’s a waste of time since the authorities and the contractor haven’t understood how these ponds work. A natural watercourse
runs through them and all the park’s drains discharge rainwater into the ponds. Every time it rains, they fill up.
I can’t imagine the amount of diesel that has been wasted for months. - Restoration of banks and revegetation and securing of surrounding areas : by destroying ALL existing vegetation ? Isn't that a problem ? Yes, some vegetation will probably be replanted, but a young shrub with 3 leaves cannot compete with a tree that is tens of years old in terms of CO2 absorption.
- Removal of islands (management concerns and nesting site for Canada geese - invasive species) : false! The islets serve as a refuge and nesting place for the park's geese and ducks, birds that have been sedentary in the park since the beginning of time. From now on, there will be no more refuges for them. As for the Canada geese, there are only about ten of them and there is no question of an invasion like we see elsewhere. Biodiversity says thank you.
- Water movement management system (pump) and waterfall near the kiosk : the water jets in the middle of the ponds will therefore not be put back in place. This is a shame because they contribute to the oxygenation of the water and thus prevent eutrophication of the ponds. Furthermore, if these systems are of the same quality as those installed when the concrete basins were created near the cafeteria in 2013, they will work for two months before breaking down completely.
- Building a wooden bridge : so that the most stupid among us can throw their waste into the water more easily. Since civility no longer exists, it regularly happens that the park is transformed in certain places into a dump.
- There was once the creation of a swamp in place of one of the ponds. This crazy idea seems to have been abandoned and that's a good thing. We don't choose to create a swamp, we can't dictate our wishes to nature.
Since June, walking in the park has been anything but pleasant. I have already mentioned the emissions from the diesel generator, but I have not yet mentioned the noise emitted by this machine. Not to mention the regular arrival of trucks in the park and the piles of mud lying around everywhere.
Being in contact with nature is good for your health...
As I said before, maintenance was obviously more than necessary. But wasting so much public money on such a lame project wasn’t necessary.
Cleaning the ponds and repairing the banks would have been enough, but it certainly wouldn’t have been enough to show that the City
cares about the environment.
These developments were designed by people who never come to the park, unlike local residents and regulars (of which I’m one).
Water, trees and shrubs, geese, everything has disappeared
An idyllic and peaceful setting, but belonging to the past
Pathetic image that has been offered to us for months
We will note the effectiveness of the pumping that has been going on for months
Eliminating animal and plant species is good for biodiversity according to the City of Mouscron
The beautiful poplar in the center of the photo (one of the last in the park, by the way) doesn't have much longer to live...
Le beau peuplier au centre de la photo (l’un des derniers du parc d’ailleurs) n’en a plus pour longtemps...
The municipal park was inaugurated in 1932. Before this beautiful green space, there was a public dump, which was filled in by the
new park. And long before that, there were fortifications there. In just under a century, the park and its ponds had created a
natural balance. All of this was irreparably destroyed in a few months.
The municipal park was renowned for its diversity of tree species and for being one of the most beautiful in the country. An extension
was created at the beginning of the 21st century, but it is limited to three trees and two bushes lost in the middle of huge anonymous
lawns. Perhaps this is what the City dreams of for the historic park. The park's architect, Frans Seroen, must be turning in his grave...
Quality of life ? No, densification !
Speaking of the environment, I now come to the famous catchphrase of the City : "Mouscron is becoming greener and greener". Here too,
the lie is nice.
This city has long been handed over to property developers. Everywhere, individual houses are being razed to make way for apartment
blocks. Moreover, the City does not hide it since the maximum densification of the city center is on the agenda of the municipal college.
The availability of undeveloped land in the city center is particularly low (8.1 ha). Compliance with the land use principles as proposed
by the territorial options plan would imply the creation of nearly 8,000 new housing units, i.e. a theoretical density of 528 housing
units per hectare for new projects on plots that are still free.
This theoretical density for new projects is obviously unattainable.
However, in order to move towards the objective of 60 housing units per hectare for the entire urban center, other densification
possibilities are conceivable through the reconstruction of the city on the city.
Note2
Thus, the crowding of population to the detriment of the quality of life becomes the number 1 priority for the City, and to do
this, entire neighborhoods are delivered to real estate developers. I know something about it...
Before, I only had one neighbor. Since the construction of a building on land that was once occupied by a grove, I have about ten
neighbors who have a bird's eye view of my garden. Being in your garden and seeing all these people is an exquisite joy.
To support the fact that the city is becoming more and more artificial and not green, I had fun doing some before/afters on
Google Street View™. This tool is great for remembering how certain places have evolved (for better or for worse) in a few
years and also to overcome some memory problems, intentional or not.
These few views only concern the city center, I don't even mention the other neighborhoods and villages of the entity, where it is also
the party with the cement mixer.
Two other places have suffered the ravages of the chainsaws but for them, it is impossible to do a before/after : the park of Bois
de Boulogne, razed to make an underground car park, and the Place Gérard Kasiers where there were some beautiful trees, but which
had to leave room for the renewal of the pavement of the square. Obviously, keeping these trees was impossible. Well, come on !
Pictures
Avenue Reine Astrid
Large lawns replaced by parking lots and countless posts and signs.
A dream enhancement for the venerable Château des Comtes.
Avenue Royale
The conciergerie of the former civil hospital and its small park destroyed to make way for the horror of the new CPAS building.
A masterpiece in the making.
Parking Métropole
Another parking lot, but once wooded.
Now a site of great beauty just a stone's throw from the Grand'Place.
Patte d'Oie
A wild grove once occupied by a farm.
The new blockhouse is so much nicer, isn't it ?
Rue de Courtrai
The headquarters of the municipal administration has set an example in terms of felling trees and artificializing the soil.
Fortunately, the parking lot will soon be adorned with three trees. We're saved !
Rue de la Coquinie
A wooded playground, why do that ?
Let's build a parking lot there !
Rue de Roubaix
Fields in the middle of the city, what for ?
There's a shortage of apartments in the area !
Rue des Moulins
A beautiful villa and its park sacrificed for a real estate developer.
Rue du Bas-Voisinage
A very small wooded area, yes, but why destroy it to replace it with a shrub and weeds ?
Rue du Billemont
A vacant lot reclaimed by nature, but not for long...
Rue du Roi Chevalier
A beautiful line of birch trees and open spaces, what for ?
Rue du Val
Perhaps the worst ecological attack in the city center.
An entire park razed to shit out this concrete crap.
Notes
- City of Mouscron - The ponds in the municipal park are going to get a makeover (in French)
- City of Mouscron - Land use planning - Non-technical summary (in French)
Related pages
- I went to take some photos in our poor municipal park twice : in 2012 and in 2014.
- In terms of urbex, a few streets housed spots that I was lucky enough to visit. On rue du Val, there was the Villa Krisner and the Maison Duval. Located on rue des Moulins was the Villa du Dentiste. As for the Château des Comtes, avenue Reine Astrid, it’s mentioned on the page talking about my beginnings in the world of urbex.
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