Legally secure permits

Legally secure permits are no longer a matter of luck: urban planning direction makes the difference

On 19 December 2025, the Flemish Government approved the Action Programme for Legally Secure and Robust Permits. With that, Flanders has decisively changed course. A permit is no longer an administrative afterthought, but the outcome of a strategic lead-up. For anyone building or developing, the message is clear: if you only start thinking at the moment of submission, you’re already too late.

Under the new Flemish permitting framework, the role of the urban planner and spatial planner becomes more important than ever. Permitting returns to what it should be at its core: a process where early spatial choices determine whether a project is feasible, defensible, and sustainable.

From speed to robustness: a new logic

Too many projects fail today not because of their substance, but because they lack solid spatial or legal anchoring. The Action Programme tackles this by clearly raising the bar:

Substance over form: permits must be defensible on content, not just formally correct.
Early direction: technical and societal debates happen in the administrative phase, not in court.
Shared responsibility: from initiator to adviser—everyone contributes to a strong, well-founded file.

Four strategic pillars for a successful application

Environmental impact assessment as a foundation, not an appendix.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) gains stronger evidential value and a legal presumption of soundness. That creates opportunities, but also brings responsibility. An EIA that lacks spatial reasoning will no longer be “fixed” on appeal. Here, the urban planner acts as director, translating the impact study, the VEN test, species research and the appropriate assessment into one coherent, legally robust narrative.
Pre-application consultation as a crucial design phase.
Pre-application consultation is no longer an informal “sense check”, but a formal phase where we lock in the project’s defensibility. By weighing plan alternatives strategically at this stage and interpreting policy frameworks correctly, we avoid surprises later in the process.
Targeted participation and a duty to raise concerns.
The new duty to raise concerns makes participation more transparent and more binding. Objections must be submitted on time and supported with arguments, increasing legal certainty. A strong planning file anticipates these concerns and motivates choices through societal added value—so participation becomes an asset rather than a risk.
Solution-oriented case law.
The Council for Permit Disputes (Raad voor Vergunningsbetwistingen) gets more room for remedies (such as the administrative loop). Only files with consistent spatial logic and a clear structure give the judge enough grip to save a project when minor formal errors occur.

Societal added value as a lever

From now on, permitting authorities may explicitly weigh the economic, ecological and social added value of a project. Strengthening core areas, mixed-use integration and space efficiency are no longer empty concepts, but tangible arguments that reinforce an application.

Our view: you don’t 'make' a permit, you design it

That’s exactly where Witteveen+Bos steps in as a true partner. Our team sees permitting as an integrated design process where quality, policy and legal feasibility come together. Our spatial planners don’t just execute, they play a key role in safeguarding your project’s legal certainty.

Our expertise for your project

Strategic project exploration long before submission;
Impact studies that set a clear framework for your project;
Urban planning direction throughout the entire permitting process;
Translating complex regulation into robust, readable application files.

Starting a new project? Don’t just move faster, move smarter. We’re happy to assess where your project is spatially strongest and how we can eliminate legal vulnerabilities.

Let’s build a permit that stands firm. Contact us today for a strategic advisory meeting.