A grower with a successor ready, whose company is doing well and wants to expand, with funds and space available – that is Flemish tomato grower, Franky Galle. His wish is to expand his greenhouse to 8 hectares, but he has to wait and see whether this is going to happen. Residents in the surrounding area are not thrilled about the expansion.
The nursery belonging to Franky Galle from Ingelmunster is now 2.1 hectares in size. “Our son wants to join the company, but the greenhouse is already 25 years old, we can’t earn a living from it and there’s no room for advancement for such a young man. We want to modernize the greenhouse with modern infrastructure and implement modern glass panes”. Special lighting to promote growing are also needed in the new greenhouse.
However, the neighbors are objecting seriously: 13 complaint letters and a petition with 81 signatures. This is a huge disappointment for Franky. "We were hoping for more understanding. At present, there is absolutely no disturbance at all. Not regarding the noise, nor with transport, nor with our employees. Tomatoes don’t make noise, we prevent light pollution with screens and water hazards do not exist as we need all the water for ourselves. We comply with the strictest requirements and will dig a pond containing millions of liters of water.” This information was shared by Franky during meetings with his neighbors, but it seemed to be in vain. “We’re waiting for the decision by the local authorities.”
When the construction will start is anyone’s guess. “We are busy with the application for the archaeological site inspection. The building license is being processed so we'll wait and see.”