At the municipal council meeting of April 24, 2024, a project for a new playground in Hellange at Bourbierg, costing over €350,000, was approved.
Even though this is a significant amount, CSV voted in favor of the project because we believe it is important to create community spaces in residential neighborhoods of our commune. However, we regretted that once again a project is being carried out without first speaking to the residents concerned.
Our commune’s action plan under the new Pacte Logement 2.0 (“Housing Pact”) lists citizen participation as one of the seven key points, with the redevelopment of public spaces given as an example. In practice, however, the board of aldermen did not want to consider this for the current project. The mayor, among other things, stated that public meetings often don’t attract much interest and that he’s usually a bit disappointed by people’s participation.
We find that unfortunate. The initial plan includes a large play structure for children under 6, another for children over 6, a few benches, and a picnic table. The people who know what’s needed are the ones who live there. We would have involved the residents to jointly develop something. Unfortunately, the board of aldermen sees it differently. Or perhaps it simply doesn’t tolerate opinions other than its own?