This case study relates the story of a strategic urban plan for the whole City of Namur and on the parallel development of three big urban construction project. The strategic plan has been initiated in the beginning of the 1990ties., whith the first specifications of the Schéma De Structure (SDS) and of the Règlement Communal d'Urbanisme (RCU). It extends to nowadays. Although both the SDS and the RCU were finally refused, they influenced the urban construction projects developed in parallel. Moreover, they still have a certain weight due to a first approval and two rounds of public consultation.

The MET urban construction project, extending from 1991 to the end of the works, in Autumn 1999, actually started with the decision of locating the MET building beyond the Namur station.

Developed in parallel with the SDS and the RCU developments, from 1991 to nowadays, the SNCB station platform project is now partly stopped.

The St.-Luc Block project extends from the nineties, with the first specifications, to nowadays. Works are still under progress and are expected to be achieved by the end of the year 2003.

This case study relates the story of a strategic urban plan for the whole City of Namur and on the parallel development of three big urban construction projects which are: (1). the railway station project; (2). the MET building project; (3). the St. Luc Block project. However, one must stress the point that, in this case, the distinction between strategic level and project level is not so clear.

Regarding the strategic urban plan, the budget may be estimated to 620. 000 Euros (or 25 millions BF). Its operational area rests on the whole City of Namur whose urban environment's initial state was characterized by the severe consequences of the cut made through the town by the railway. Such consequences rest on the functional and sentimental separation of some quarters from the historic centre. For instance: the Bomel-Herbatte quarter.

In order to solve this negative situation, the SDS and RCU, on which was mainly based this strageic plan, intended therefore to reach three major objectives:

- to strenghten the cultural identy of Namur, by reinforcing its urban historical structure;

- to reinforce conviviality and residential attractiveness of XIXtheen century quarters by improving links between the centre and these surrounding quarters. Bomel-Herbatte for instance has thus been integrated into the same planning area than the historical centre;

- to set up local plans for some quarters in order to define a coherent strategy for these ones, going in the sense of a better conviviality and residential attractiveness. `

One must underline that the three big urban construction projects developed in parallel and analysed here below were participating to the implementation of two of these three strategic objectives:

(1).with regards to the urban structure which this strategic plan intended to reinforce, one must underline that all these projects helped to physically reinforce the image of the ancient city walls;

(2). Concerning the improvement of the links between the centre of the City and the surrounding quarters, the SNCB project would help to create a pedestrian link thanks to the platform crossing the railway.

As the strategic project was devoted to the whole City of Namur, no alternative location had to be considered.

Competent authority was first the LA which had to decide what about the future evolution of the town. The Regional Authority had then to approve the SDS and the RCU, contributing to enable LA to become legally "decentralized" which means that LA becomes competent in providing development consents. However, the new mayor, elected at the end of 2000, does not want anymore to adopt SDS and RCU for several reasons.

The urban planning administration of Namur was the developer. It associated a main private consultant: COOPARCH.

Thomas & Piron, a private society located in Brussels, seems to have been perceived as a distant funding organisation by the general public.

The author of the strategic plan was the urban planning administration of Namur, although the SNCB, the MET and the private cinema "Les Ateliers du Cinéma" played an important role in the operational definition of the plan.

No SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment) was carried out because Impact Assessment are still not mandatory requirements for all the plans in the Wallonian Region.

Effects on CH of the urban project implementation were both direct and indirect. As they happened through the different urban construction projects, we will underline them here below.

The impact area targeted by the global strategy is the whole City of Namur and surroundings since its aims were to change the morphology of the station's surroundings and to better integrate the railway into the town. However, it seems that its more significant impact affected the Bomel quarter because of the urban construction projects developed in parallel with the strategic plan and respecting its requirements.

As underlined here above, three big urban construction projects developed in parallel with the strategic plan.

4. 2. 2. 1. The MET building:

This urban construction project rested on the erection of a building intended to house the administration (940 civil servants) of the Regional Ministry of Development, Facilities and Transportations, which is now standing along the railway, just on the opposite side of the station. This project's operational area is 17. 500 m2. The MET building has ten floors and provides for 20. 000 m2 of offices and 20. 000 m2 of underground. Its purchase price is estimated to 70 millions Euros (budget). The initial state of this area was characterized in particular by old depots from SNCB.

Decision of the Wallonian Region to locate the MET building on this SNCB site was taken during the discussions between SNCB, MET and LA about the SNCB's decision to renew the Namur station. Indeed, the Wallonian Region was looking for a good location for one of its major ministries. The platform that the SNCB intended to build in the meantime the new railway station appeared to complete ideally the MET building to the eyes of the Wallonian Region -as it appeared to be a good "trait d'union" between the different wishes claimed by LA, SNCB and the Wallonian Region. Therefore, as decision regarding the location of the MET building was linked to the decision made by the SNCB, there was no true alternative location.

Wallonian Region (MET Ministry) was both the competent authority and the developer for the MET building. In this case, the role of author of the project was played by Jean Barthélémy, a well-known architect famous for his works on the Pise tower . No EIA has been carried out in this case. Only a public inquiry stage, just before the development consent decision, allowed citizens to react. Regarding the impact area, achievement of the MET buiding implied deep changes but also nuisances in the Bomel quarter. Indeed, inhabitants claim now that they are submerged by the cars of the numerous MET employees and more and more famillies seems to leave Bomel. This last trend induces important changes in the local housing types. More and more shops and small restaurants also appear near the MET building.

4. 2. 2. 2. The railway station:

The second big urban construction project developed in parallel to the strategic plan rests on the building of a new railway station. It actually consists in building a platform beyond the existing façade of the station, crossing the railway. On the ground floor will be the railways and their platforms. The first floor will house the hall, the ticket offices and shops. On the second floor, a cinema complex will be developed by a private developer, "Les ateliers du cinéma". This association between SNCB and a private developer intended to make the project most cost-effective. Developed in parallel with the SDS and the RCU on which was based the strategic plan, this project is now partly stopped because of recourses introduced to the Council of State and subsequent cancellations of development consents. Its planned budget was about 115, 5 millions Euros (or 4, 5 milliards of BF).

As the urban environment had become functionally inadequate, the project for the station targeted four functional objectives (as explained by the SNCB):

- to separate peole and goods traffics;

- to improve the traffic fluidity by increasing the number of railways;

- to increase the speed of the trains entering and leaving the station;

- to improve the welcome of the travellers and to increase the station capacity.

With regards to the no alternative location was considered since

Competent authority was the Wallonian Region since the town of Namur was not legally "decentralized". Developer's role is mainly played by the SNCB, but, as this one gave the second floor of the platform to a private developer, i.e. Les ateliers du cinéma, in order to make the project most cost-effective, this private body can also be seen as a developer.

Here again, the Thomas & Piron society has been seen as a "distant" funding organization by the general public.

With regard to the station platform project, the author of the project was the SNCB's architect, Christian Bourgeois although Jean Barthélémy also intervened in this project. Concerning the cinema complex which has to be located on the second floor, Les ateliers du cinéma chosed the Groupe Triangle SCCRL.

An SEA (Strategic Environment Assessment) has been carried out in this case because it is mandatory when the local plan ("PCA" or "Plan Communal d'Aménagement") does not follow the higher level plan (or "plan de secteur"). The chosen consultant was Poly'art, from Mons. According to some local officers, the programm defined by the LA for this SEA was voluntary limited to some aspects in order "not to go much against" the project! Nevertheless, as the SEA results forced the author of the project to propose other designs and silhouettes for his project, the SEA could be considered as globally positive.

Regarding its impact area, it can be expected that the station project and the cinema complex located on its platform's second floor will increase the negative effects on the Bomel-Herbatte quarter already created by the erection of the MET building. However, in the same time, the platform is seen by Bomel-Herbatte inhabitants as an opportunity to create a pedestrian link between the city centre and Bomel, always opened, accessible, secured and lighted.

4. 2. 2. 3. The St.-Luc Block:

This third urban construction project rests on the private development of the St. Luc Block in ordrer to create offices for 300 to 500 peoples, shops and restaurants. With a planned budget of about 21 millions Euros, this project has as operational area of 12. 520 floor square metters. Regarding its initial state, from an urban environment point-of-view, the site was previously occupied by the old St-Luc polyclinic which was pulled down in 2000 since it was beginning top derelict.

Competent authority was in this case the Wallonian Region as the City of Namur is not legally "decentralized". The developer was Thomas & Piron, a private society from Brussels. It seems to be have perceived by the public as a distant funding organization. Architects of Thomas & Piron society were the authors of the project. However, they are almost totally unknown.

Regarding its impact area, it can be expected that the future St.-Luc Block will also increase the negative effects on the Bomel-Herbatte quarter already created by both the erection of the MET building and the construction of the railway station platform.

There was no pre-existing organized expertise in CH among the public. Although the big urban construction projects generated the creation of a quarter committe, this one intended at defending the Bomel-Herbatte quarter interests in a larger sense than the sole built heritage protection. This committee claimed for an EIA regarding such big urban construction projects and for a whole strategy for the Bomel-Herbatte quarter.

The urban project implementation through the three urban construction projects is likely to have both direct and indirect effects on CH. A direct effect will rest on the conservation of the sole façade of the current station building (dating from 1861) by the railway station project. Indirect effects of these projects will rest, on the one hand, on visual effects on townscape. Both the station project and the MET building project will also have important effects on the morphology of the town. On the other hand, all the urban construction projects also seem likely to produce indirect effects on the XIXtheen century built hetitage of Bomel quarter, due to the real estate pressure they indeed create.

The public concerned rests mainly on the Bomel-Herbatte quarter inhabitants although one could say, in a certain way, that the whole population of the Namur City is concerned by the strategic urban project and by its implementation at the urban construction project level. One could also consider as "public concerned" the employees whose offices are situated in the MET building and the "railtravellers".

The public involvement in the decision-making was limited to passive consultation stages or "public inquiries" for most of the projects. However, conflict was not at all absent as some interventions turned into negative stances:

(1). A conflict occurred between the SNCB and a private cinema developer (La Renaissance) which was building a new cinema complex in the suburbs of Namur (Jambes). As the SNCB appeared to be trying to obstruct this project likely to compete with its own cinema complex projected on the railway station platform, La Renaissance introduced a judicial recourse to the Council of State against the local plan (PCA) related to the station platform project. Although this recourse is still under examination, the local is very likely to be cancelled by the Council of State.

(2). The Bomel quarter committe spontaneously reacted outside the leagal framework of the "public inquiries" by sending letters and petitions to the LA deputy mayors. They particularly stressed the point that they were likely to feel even more isolated from the rest of the town because of these urban construction projects.

(3). Spontaneous negative reactions from the suburbs inhabitants also occurred when urban planners revealed that one of the Schéma de Structure' (SDS) aims was to increase population density of the XIXtheen century crown.

Despite these spontaneous reactions, no real opened conflict occurred and both Bomel inhabitants and suburbs inhabitants did not undertake judicail actions. However, misunderstandings is still well present although latent.