The city of Mechelen wants to sell at least one million euros worth of agricultural land to local farmers. In this way, the city council hopes to offer them future security and assure them that they pay a good price.
Mechelen wants to sell 85 hectares of agricultural land to existing tenants and local farmers. In total, the city owns approximately 400 hectares of land, 315 of which are not on Mechelen territory. By selling the remaining plots, the city council hopes to offer farmers prospects for the future and assure them that they pay a fair price for the land.
“The value of the plots is still being estimated, but normally they will cost between 5 and 5.5 euros per square meter,” said Alderman of Agriculture Arthur Orlians (Open Vld). “Right now it is difficult for farmers to buy land because governments and government organizations can purchase them with subsidies.”
65 hectares of agricultural land are now being leased in Mechelen. “Those farmers will be the first to be asked whether they want to buy the land. If they don’t want that, we’ll just keep renting it to them. But the sale is not public,” Orlians explains.
Spatial Policy Plan 2030
The city wants to reserve the Hombeeks Plateau as much as possible for agriculture. That is why it is prepared to sell at least 1 million euros worth of agricultural land. The plan is part of the Spatial Policy Plan 2030, in which municipalities describe where they see room for nature and agriculture, among other things. At the same time, the city wants to eventually create larger contiguous areas for nature in the Rivierenland Nature Park area, without expropriating farmers. In this way, Mechelen wants to combat fragmentation.
The city will sell the 315 hectares of agricultural land that are not on Mechelen territory to the municipalities involved. “This way they can democratically decide what happens to the land. If the municipality is not interested, we will offer the plots to the Flemish Land Company,” says Orlians.
