A first: Wingene & Ruiselede want to merge: “From 2025 we will talk about Wingene”

The neighboring municipalities aim for the amalgamation on January 1, 2025. An important advantage of the municipalities that merge voluntarily is that Flanders takes over part of the debts. The municipalities of Ruiselede, Zwevezele and Wingene will continue under the name ‘Wingene’ from 2025.

The initiative comes from Wingene with mayor Lieven Huys (CD&V). “Within the current Flemish government period, municipalities are allowed to choose their merger partner themselves. That played an important role in this merger,” it sounds in a press release.

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Merger between rural municipalities

Wingene is a rural municipality with more than 14,000 inhabitants. It consists of the centers of Wingene center and the sub-municipality of Zwevezele. Lieven Huys has been mayor there since 2021. Before that it was Hendrik Verkest who wore the mayor’s sash for more than 30 years.

Neighboring municipality Ruiselede has about 5,000 inhabitants. The mayor is Greet De Roo (RKD), who succeeded Etienne Biebuyck in 2007 as the first female mayor of Ruiselede. In addition to the center, Ruiselede has two other villages: Doomkerke and Kruiskerke.

Fun fact: the new merged municipality would have about 20,000 inhabitants, which is almost as much as the surrounding municipalities of Tielt and Oostkamp.