Ferris wheel Westende has to go after complaint

“Due to a decision of the Court of First Instance in Bruges, the Middelkerke municipal council has been forced to dismantle the Ferris wheel that has already been built on the Koning Ridderdijk in Westende with immediate effect and to move it to another location,” says the municipality of Middelkerke.

“That decision came after a complaint from a neighboring second home. The Ferris wheel will be phased out from Wednesday, June 21. The Arthur De Greefplein in Middelkerke will now be the new location.”

Complaint from neighbour

Mayor Dedecker explains: “Last week we informed local residents about the construction and operation of the Ferris wheel on the Koning Ridderdijk in Westende. Based on that communication, a neighboring second home apparently submitted a unilateral petition against the Ferris wheel to the Court of First Instance in Bruges.

On Friday 16 June, the municipal council received a surprise visit from a bailiff who immediately halted the construction of the Ferris wheel. If we didn’t, we had to pay excessive penalty payments: 5,000 euros per day and per person who helped build the wheel. The judge ruled in favor of the complainant on the basis of a purely administrative plea.”

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“With Back to the Wall”

“Look, I understand that there are legal options and that everyone can make use of them, but this is a bit taken by the hair. You know, my door is always open. I am happy to discuss any problems.

Now we have a unilateral petition from one complainant on our plate. Neither the municipal council nor the operator were heard in this matter. There is really no defense at all. And suppose we were to appeal, there is a good chance that the dispute will end up on the long track. We’ll put up our Christmas tree by then. We therefore have no choice but to abide by the verdict. The construction of the Ferris wheel was therefore immediately halted. We had discussions with the complainant yesterday, but were unable to come to a workable compromise to keep the Ferris wheel in Westende-Bad,” said Jean-Marie Dedecker.

Relocation to Arthur De Greefplein

After urgent consultations with the operator and investigating various options, Middelkerke decided to build the Ferris wheel at the Arthur De Greefplein in Middelkerke.

“In itself that is a good solution, although I would have allowed the many holidaymakers the beautiful view over the new seawall in Westende-Bad, especially since we are organizing the official opening there next weekend.”