Staatsbosbeheer is no longer allowed to close a barrier over a dirt road towards the Joytime recreation company in Grolloo after a complaint about the accessibility of a gay meeting place. According to the municipality of Aa en Hunze, closing the sand road at Oostereind is not permitted.
Interest group Platform Keelbos, which stands up for the preservation of gay meeting places, filed the complaint. The dirt road is regularly closed off with the barrier, which means that visitors to the meeting point at the Kleine Moere swimming lake cannot always park their car there.
Aa en Hunze agrees and urges Staatsbosbeheer to remove the barrier within four weeks. When the barrier is closed, it blocks a public road and that is not allowed. This is only allowed if the municipality has given permission for this, which is not the case.
A spokesperson for Staatsbosbeheer says in a response that the barrier is there for the safety of visitors to Joytime. “The road doesn’t really go anywhere and is quite dusty. It was closed for the safety of Joytime’s visitors and to prevent all the dust from being kicked up.”
Joytime visitors park their car along the Oostereind and the barrier often closes after closing time. “It is there to prevent people from entering the premises of our company unintentionally,” says Joytime owner Erik Eeftink.
He regrets that the barrier has to be removed, but according to Eeftink it is not insurmountable. “As far as I’m concerned, the barrier would have remained there. But if it has to go, then so be it.”
Staatsbosbeheer will open the barrier from now on and would like to talk to the municipality and Joytime to keep the traffic situation at Oostereind safe.