Beachland cancelled: advice for a permit is not forthcoming

Licensing problems are at the root of the debacle. “My back is against the wall due to too strict conditions,” says the organizer. “There is no time left to arrange the necessary permits,” the competent authorities said.

problem

The festival is organized in Blankenberge. Traditionally, the festival takes place near the Westerstaketsel. Part of the site is on the territory of the municipality of De Haan/Wenduine (at Harendijke). The festival takes place on the beach, at the foot of the dunes. And that’s where the shoe pinches. Because the newly developed (embryonic) dunes and also the dune base may not be excavated without the permission of the Agency for Maritime Services (AMDK), nor may the ground level of the beach and the dunes be changed without their agreement.

Although Beachland already took this into account and proposed a new location right next to the O’Neill Beachclub, it also encountered little cooperation from the Agency for Nature and Forests.

AMDK, the Agency for Maritime Services and the Coast, states that both the old location (Blankenberge-Harendijke) and the new proposed zone are located on the edge of the Habitats Directive. The zone is also located in the VEN area: this Flemish Ecological Network is a selection of the most valuable and sensitive nature reserves in Flanders.

According to the Agency for Nature and Forests (ANB), the current location is partly in a transition zone for recreation and nature and partly in a nature reserve. According to them, the requested event is therefore not in accordance with the destination of that zone.

wrath

Organizer Ronald Luyten (AGM) and partners are incensed: “We therefore received no positive advice from ANB for the organization of Beachland festival. Neither in the old or the newly proposed location. I have pulled out all the stops and even passed a preliminary test to the agency but the government agencies refuse to give advice. Something we have never had to do in the past 13 editions. It is now the first time that problems arise. Although the local board of Blankenberge has continuously supported and helped me through this process, the risk is simply too great to allow the event to take place. Higher authorities can simply stop the event during the build-up or the weekend, a debacle that we absolutely want to avoid. Actually, this is really outrageous, people just don’t want to cooperate from above.”