The owners of the Brussels' amusement park Mini-Europe have applied for a demolition permit of the park to denounce the city's lack of long-term vision.
For the time being, the park will remain open, Thierry Meeùs from Mini-Europe said to RTBF, but the owners of the park have applied for a permit for the demolition of the buildings and all installations of the park without reconstruction.
The owners do not plan to close the doors as soon as possible, they just want to have the permit in case it becomes necessary. Mini-Europa is supposed to be part of the Neo-project, a project that will redesign the Heysel area, but the city of Brussels has not been clear when exactly this will happen, according to Meeùs, reports VRT NWS.
In the meantime, Mini-Europe has been receiving a new temporary permit to stay open each time, and the current extension will expire at the end of 2020. "This has been going on for twelve years now," said Meeùs to RTBF. "We want the city to finally develop a long-term vision," he added.
Large investments are postponed due to this uncertainty, even though the park attracts around 400,000 visitors every year. The Atomium, in comparison, attracts around 650,000, reports VRT NWS.
Other cities, both in Belgium and abroad, have shown interest in taking over the amusement park. "The monuments are perfectly relocatable," said Meeùs. "When in 2016 the park was almost closed, we received 55 propositions from different cities," he added.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
