SEMPER FERRARIS

Since July 1, 2020, our association has been officially registered as VZW Semper Ferraris.

“Semper” is Latin for “always”.

“Ferraris” is the name of an old and very rare forest.

The French Count Joseph de Ferraris mapped the Austrian Netherlands between 1770 and 1775 (see separate section FERRARIS). The forests on his maps are considered “Ferraris forests” if they have not been ploughed or used for agriculture since then. It is possible that these natural habitats go back many centuries.

The trees, undergrowth and seeds are of inestimable value and almost irreplaceable.

HISTORY

The non-profit association SEMPER FERRARIS was started in the summer of 2020 as a citizens' movement in protest against the planned destruction of four hectares of rare forest for a housing project.

The forest, located on the Heikantberg in Rotselaar, had to be protected as the “Most Vulnerable and Valuable Forest” (MKWB) under the Flemish Forest Decree.

However, there is hardly any budget to compensate the landowners and the legal regulation has remained a dead letter. As a result, the rate of deforestation has accelerated, in a country where nature is already seriously threatened.

After years of proceedings, the Council for Permit Disputes annulled the subdivision permit that had previously been granted by the Permanent Deputation of the province of Flemish Brabant on 5 May 2022. The Council's ruling is an important milestone for the protection of vulnerable and valuable forests.

On 5 January 2023, the Permanent Deputation finally decided to definitively refuse the subdivision application.

Our actions received the necessary attention in the media, including a broadcast by PANO (VRT) and articles in De Standaard and Knack.

There was also movement on the political front. On 25 October 2022, the Rotselaar municipal council approved a residential zoning plan, which put an end to the fragmentation of the wooded residential park areas in Rotselaar.

The policy-desired developments (BGO) were included in a legally enforceable spatial implementation plan (RUP), which was provisionally adopted on 30 January 2024.

However, a few subdivision applications were submitted before the new regulation came into effect. These were annulled at the request of Semper Ferraris by the Council for Permit Disputes (Holleweg, judgment of 30 November 2023; Heirbaan, judgment of 22 May 2025).

This is not the end of our story. At a local level, we try to make people more aware of their natural environment, so that it is preserved for future generations. At the Flemish level, we are working together with our partners Natuurpunt, Bos+ and Greenpeace to achieve better protection of so-called non-zoned forests.