Ostend (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): Natuurpunt is against the new surf club in Ostend because it’s too tall and big. They suggest moving it to the old Royal Galleries to help surfers and the area.
The new surf club, which is going to replace the old facility run by Inside Out near the Royal Galleries and Thermae Palace Hotel in Ostend, has received criticism from Natuurpunt, a nature conservation group. They say the project doesn’t follow the rules for the area. One major problem is that the surf club’s design shows it sticking out 8 meters above the sea wall, but the highest it should be is only 3 meters.
What are Natuurpunt’s concerns about the new surf club in Ostend?
Natuurpunt highlights that the paved area of the proposed surf club is 804 square meters, which is more than the allowed limit of 720 square meters set by the rules. These issues raise worries about how the project could affect the environment and whether it follows the coastal planning guidelines that are meant to protect the natural beach landscape.
Natuurpunt, a nature conservation group in Belgium, is worried about the new surf club planned in Ostend. They don’t have a problem with the idea of a surf club, but they disagree with where it’s going to be built. They have asked the provincial government to cancel the permit that the city of Ostend gave for the project. Natuurpunt has suggested a different spot for the surf club at the Royal Galleries (Koninginnehof), which is a historic place in Ostend that has been neglected. They believe that putting the surf club there would help surfers and also improve the Royal Galleries, which has been in bad shape for a long time. Natuurpunt thinks this idea would help the city while also meeting the needs of surfers without harming sensitive areas.
Alderman Bart Plasschaert said moving to the Gaanderijen isn’t possible because they had problems there before. They built a clubhouse in 2000 because it was hard to carry equipment to the beach. The new building is not much bigger than the old one. The rules allow the roof to be three meters high, and they designed it that way. But people can still object to the plans, and they are waiting to see what happens.
