Luxembourg's Ministry of Housing has announced the launch of a new affordable rural housing project, called "An der Schmëtt", in Wecker, a small town in the municipality of Biwer, in eastern Luxembourg.
The “An der Schmëtt” project consists of a public revaluation of a project initially launched by the former sanitation fund "Fonds d'assainissement de la Cité Syrdall". The Housing Fund will create 164 affordable housing units for rental and sale in this area according to a sustainable urban planning concept. The total financial participation of the Luxembourg State is estimated at €108 million; the total development costs and projected construction costs of the project amount to €135 million including tax.
Tuesday 1 March 2022 marked the start of the associated infrastructure works in Wecker. On this occasion, Luxembourg's Minister for Housing, Henri Kox, presented the bill authorising the State to participate in the financing of the development of housing in the “An der Schmëtt” project. The managers of the Housing Fund, Diane Dupont, President of the Board of Directors, and Jacques Vandivinit, Director, as well as the Mayor of the Municipality of Biwer, presented the key elements of this affordable rural housing project.
"This is an exemplary project in several respects", said Minister Kox. "First, it shows that affordable housing projects are progressing if municipal officials commit. Then, with good collaboration, as here between municipality and public promoter, innovative projects can be born – even on sites with complicated topology and with a heavy history".
According to the Ministry of Housing, the Syre valley offers strong potential for attractiveness with its renaturation project. The urban planning bias of the “An der Schmëtt” project is to plan a new district with a village character directly linked to the Syre river. As such, one of the major challenges of this project will be to give an identity to the future district and to guarantee a harmonious integration of the buildings in their natural environment. The project provides for the construction of 164 dwellings (an existing dwelling will be integrated into the project). The houses, eighteen of which will house integrated accommodation, will be set up in staggered rows, favouring meeting places and exchanges, while the residences will be set up on the outskirts of the district.
The Syre river, which crosses the site, will be renatured under the authority of the municipality and equipped with a footbridge linking the north and south of the district. Soft mobility will be favoured with traffic limited to the service of dwellings and car parks grouped together in the form of green carports at the entrances to the district. The site will also be close to a train station and a bus stop.
