During the summer vacation period this year there were more than 60% more visitors to the De Blaarmeersen recreation park in Ghent (East Flanders) than there were in July and August 2022. Meanwhile, the number of incidents at the Blaarmeersen was a third lower than it was last summer. That’s according to provisional figures from the recreation park’s operator Farys. From next summer persistent trouble makers will be banned from entering the Blaarmeersen site.
Ghent
More visitors and fewer incidents at the Blaarmeersen
Published:
Despite the poor weather during much of the summer, the Blaarmeersen in Ghent welcomed more visitors in July and August than was the case in 2022. The recreation park’s operator Farys has counted 130,000 visitors so far. However, the park’s swimming lake will remain open until the end of September.
The Ghent City Alderman Sofie Bracke (liberal) told VRT News that "There were 62% more visitors, most notably more families with children. The number of visitors from Ghent increased by half." Farys registered 50,000 Ghent residents over the age of 12. The interim figures were announced at a meeting of Ghent City Council in response to a question from the socialist councillor Joris Vandenbroucke.
"Fewer incidents"
Meanwhile, there were a third fewer incidents at the Blaarmeersen than there were last summer.. "These include, among other things, non-compliance with the glass ban and noise nuisance," Ms Bracke said.
The number of violent incidents was down by 85% The figures are, according to the city authorities, proof that the action it has taken to tackle anti-social behaviour at the Blaarmeersen is working. A fence has been put up around the site’s beach and swimming area. This means that the area can be closed off and the number of visitors can be monitored. The number of people thrown out of the park due to bad beviour was down by a third on last summer.
Access ban
From next summer the city council hopes to be able to issue access bans to persistant offenders.
"We want to go a step further and work with an access ban by bringing in a by-law ", Ms Bracke told VRT News. The Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (Flemish Christian democrat) gave the green light for this in July. There appeared to be some doubts as to whether the access bans would be implemented though after comments made by Farys in the press.
"We were shocked when we read that the operator does not want to enforce the bans," councilor Johan Deckmyn of the far-right Vlaams Belang told the VRT. However, Ms Bracke stresses that press comments were incorrect and Farys had not consulted the city council before making them.
The measure is now put into a legally compliant form and should be ready to come into force by next summer.