The Case of the Column Borssele Arno van Gerven, Director of the Water Sports Association

What happened?

When it was announced in 2021 that the ships would only have limited passage on the water at the Borssele wind farm, the Watersportverbond immediately presented a defense and filed a notice of objection. The following comments were made:

1. Recent legislation from 2018 stipulates that ships are allowed to continue sailing during the day and under certain conditions if they are no longer than 24 meters.
2. It has been proven at the test site in IJmuiden that this can be done safely, why not in Borssele?
3. Because there is little room for maneuver and traffic jams can also occur, the designation of prescribed routes, or corridors, creates dangerous situations. You are also unnecessarily restricting people’s freedom of movement.
4. Why limit the passage now, when we do not yet know what destination the water will be used within the wind farm. Will it be a nature reserve or a food production project, for example?

During the oral treatment of the letter of objection, the members of the committee indicated that we “were right”. But when it was announced late last year that people were standing firm, it once again shows that being right doesn’t mean you’re right. Even more interestingly, based on the arguments from the opposition procedure, corrections have been made to the ruling text, which now makes it more difficult to present a defense.

Suddenly, the rules of the game have changed.

Now, you won’t hear me say that’s cheating – governments should have the ability to correct mistakes, but that’s not fancy either. Not to mention an example of active open and transparent government. Added to well-known national affairs, this gives a bad feeling. It was therefore decided to take the case to court. Not only because we end up empty-handed, but also because it could set an unintended precedent in other places in the Netherlands, where the necessary wind farms and solar panel islands will be planned over the course of ten coming years. Now it’s Borssele, soon a place on the Ketelmeer.

Does this mean that we are against energy parks?

No, but we want to think about solutions that are both a solution for water recreation and energy production. And tests have shown that free passage is safe under certain conditions. Also, you might want to steer everything, all you have to do is storm and the ships will automatically sail through a wind farm. Last week there were two.

Although it is not pleasant to initiate legal proceedings, I consider myself lucky that the Watersportverbond has the means to deploy two high-level specialist lawyers, assisted by four of our volunteers, who have attached themselves to the case as a pitbull. We are also supported by partner organizations. This is necessary because anyone who takes legal action against the government is immediately overwhelmed with information. So much so that I would have given up as an ordinary citizen.

It also makes you think.

React?

Arno van Gerven is director of the Royal Dutch Water Sports Association. Each week he tackles hot topics in water sports. Do you want to answer? Do so at [email protected].