Dudzele opens new green zone

The first zone is a neighborhood park of 2.6 hectares with an event square, grassy area, a hill, a pond and a village orchard. You will also find seating and picnic benches and a deer hedge. The second zone provides seven hectares of extra greenery in Bruges. The zone is intended for heathland and woodland and will therefore receive specific nature-oriented management. A semi-paved footpath has been laid out in the zone, which is also accessible to wheelchair users.

Buffer for the A11

The plans for a new green zone were already revealed in 2012 by the Bruges city council and Dudzele and are intended to limit the impact of the motorway on the environment. The new green zone forms a buffer for the area around the A11, N31 and the port of Zeebrugge.

Bruges alderman of Public Domain Mercedes van Volcem is satisfied: “We have worked hard to transform this buffer into the beautiful Cathemgoed nature reserve, an accessible piece of nature for the residents of Dudzele. They have waited a long time for this and now no longer have to look at the motorway or the port, but now have a view of this beautiful nature reserve.”

As principal of the project, De Vlaamse Landmaatschappij transfers the domain to the City of Bruges. They are now responsible for the management of the area of ​​almost ten hectares.

Poetry walking route

To give the opening some color in the run-up to the summer, the municipality organized a poetry walking route. Dudzel residents and poets from outside Dudzele were invited to submit a poem with the theme “nature”. Until the end of September, 80 poems will be displayed on boards in both parts of the Cathem estate, along a walking route of approximately 3 kilometres.