Gardens under water due to new allotment, N-VA Bruges wants to stop work

In the backyard of the Brugse Benidictijnenstraat, the West Flemish Intercommunale WVI is building an allotment for hundreds of houses. But the area was water sick and despite a lot of interventions, the neighborhood feels the water level in the gardens is rising. Local resident Kristof Spruyt: “We’ve lived here since 2004. We’ve always had wet grounds at the back of the garden. I shouldn’t deny that. We used to be able to easily wear shoes or boots, but nowadays that’s no longer possible. It’s like putting on boots , up to the ankles in the water and the problem has clearly worsened.”

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The neighbors would prefer that the water specialists of the WVI come by again to see the problem with their own eyes. The Bruges N-VA opposition is now taking over the story. Municipal councilors Geert Van Tieghem and Pol Van Den Driessche even demand that the works be stopped immediately. Pol Van Den Driessche: “Every Assebroek resident knows that this historically green area in the shadow of the abbey and directly adjacent to the Assebroekse Meersen is very sensitive to water. If you are going to pour a lot of concrete there, you don’t even have to be an engineer to can predict that this will cause problems, because water always looks for a way out.”