The project developer Ghelamco has appointed former politician Rob Van de Velde as a mediator with the nature associations that oppose his planned golf in Knokke-Heist.
Paul Gheysens is launching a charm offensive against the environmental associations that oppose his planned golf project in Knokke-Heist. The owner of the real estate company Ghelamco has commissioned former politician Rob Van de Velde to start a participation project with the environmental associations concerned.
Leisure Property Invest, a Gheysens company, received a Flemish environmental permit in April for the construction of 27 holes, a conference center and a hotel in Heist. In addition to critical neighbor Peter Taffeiren, four nature clubs appealed against the decision to the Council for Permit Disputes. The non-profit organization Bescherm Bomen en Natuur, the local department of Natuurpunt and the Bruges non-profit organization Groen fear that 120 hectares of nature reserve will disappear. The Brussels non-profit organization Dryade demands that the nitrogen impact be investigated.
We see more benefit in a joint project than fighting each other in court for like-minded goals.
“When reading through the objections and formulating the answers, we came to the simple conclusion that we pursue the same (…) natural values,” Van de Velde writes in an email to the nature associations, which De Tijd was able to view. According to him, golf courses worldwide pay a lot of attention to the conservation and enhancement of nature. “Golf and nature go perfectly hand in hand,” Van de Velde told De Tijd.
Gheysens wants to develop a management memorandum for the entire site in collaboration with the nature clubs. Van de Velde plans three sessions with the associations, the first of which will be on October 18. A professor from the VUB will manage the meetings ‘as an objective source’. The exercise should be completed by early 2024. “We see more benefit in a joint project than fighting each other in court for like-minded goals,” says Van de Velde.
It is remarkable that Gheysens Van de Velde is making efforts for its important golf project, which has a development value of 780 million euros. Van de Velde was once a Member of Parliament for Lijst Dedecker and later became alderman for Spatial Planning and Urban Development for the N-VA in Antwerp. In that position he was criticized for his close contacts with project developers. He resigned a few months before the 2018 municipal elections. Since then, Van de Velde has been active as a consultant in the real estate world.