Apparently, our poor windmill isn’t the only victim of the Flemish town planners. According to an article in Het Belang van Limburg, reprinted by Livios:

Member of the Flemish Parliament Johan Sauwens (CD&V) has launched an attack on the Flemish Administration for Town Planning. “Town Planning consciously blocks hundreds of building applications in Flanders, costing private citizens and businesses tens of millions of euros per year. The minister urgently needs to sort this out.”

Meanwhile, our problems now appear to be sorted. After an official summarily blocked our application (or promised to, before we even filed the application), Ilze set up a meeting with someone more senior. This official turned out to be very nice and absolutely reasonable.

Based on Flemish legislation, we are allowed to have the property rezoned from agricultural to residential use. However, based on the same legislation, we are not allowed to perform any major construction on the site for the next ten years. That means renovating the barn as it stands, and not replacing it with a proper house.

On the plus side, this will preserve the industrial nature of the building, and indulge my taste for ramshackle surroundings. We have also applied to put the windmill to multifunctional use, which means more storage and office space. On the negative side, the barn does partly obscure the windmill, which is still the crowning glory of the property. And in ten years, just as I begin to settle in comfortably, Ilze will insist on knocking down a few walls to build her dream house.

Still, ten years of peace and quiet, what more can I ask for…

Categories: Architecture
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