A flaring discussion surrounding the (in)safety of a village school in the West Flemish municipality of Lo-Reninge is getting a judicial tailspin. A local resident pointing an accusing finger at the nearby Nollet cattle feed company was taken to court by the company. A clear case of legal harassment, judges Professor Dirk Voorhoof.

Things seem quiet in Pollinkhove, a small borough of Lo-Reninge in the Westhoek. The Gothic St. Bartholomew’s Church towers high above the ancient tombs of the surrounding cemetery. This statue enjoys official status as a protected village sight. But near the church there is a strange smell and an annoying hum.

These come from feed company Voeders Nollet, which is right across the street from the church, just next to a row of houses. Two large trucks are parked there. A narrow street runs between the company buildings and a few meters behind the company is a former convent with a chapel and next to it an old school building from 1884. Together they form village school De Zonnebloem.

A group of preschoolers arrive with their teachers a little before 3 p.m. They walk along the narrow street between the factory buildings. However, the children are no longer allowed to use this passage to go to school because it is too dangerous due to the heavy freight traffic. Therefore, in 2020, at the expense of the municipality and on land belonging to the Nollet family, a new access road was built at the back of the school.

The lack of security around the school gate has worried Rigobert Declercq (66) for years. “In the 1960s, there was only a shed,” he says. “Later, the business expanded. A hangar, a warehouse, expansion of the shed, it just kept coming. In 1989 came the grinding mill.”

“At the time, I asked then-business manager Hans Nollet if that was possible just like that: to expand a business right next to a school that would lead to more and more dust and noise pollution and continuous trucking on and off.”

Over the years, Declercq would ask that question more often. Time after time he was appeased, but he saw more and more and larger trucks driving onto the property. As concerns grew, he began to inquire about the dangerous traffic situations.

“When the company submitted another permit application in 2020, we requested the documents because we wanted to know what the impact would be on the safety of the school environment and the livability of the village,” Declercq says.

Only then did he find out about the risk of dust explosion and that a risk assessment had been done nine years earlier, in 2011. An explosion can occur when dust and air are present in a certain ratio and an ignition source is present.

The company’s situation was called precarious in the dust explosion study because of its proximity to the school. “We found that some things did not seem to be true. For example, the risk analysis mentioned that the convent was empty, while there was a classroom and a sleeping area for the preschoolers, among other things.” The site visit had occurred during the Easter vacations and no children were present at that time.

Lax municipal government

In 2014, the chapel, located closest to the farm, completely converted into a kindergarten classroom. “However, at least the municipal administration, the school’s safety coordinator and of course the company itself were aware of the risk of dust explosion,” says Declercq.

The company was recommended in 2011 to have formal and documented consult with management to arrive at clear instructions in case of emergencies. “That hasn’t happened in all these years. No one of the school users was aware of anything. Even the principal of Pollinkhove school told us emphatically that she was unaware was.” A page was added to the school’s existing evacuation plan added stating that it was also valid “in the event of a dust explosion at Feeders Nollet firm.”

Several residents filed objections to the new expansion and several months later Declercq informed the environmental inspection of his informed of his findings. His complaint reached the municipality who initially decided to have dust measurements done, but eventually decided not to do so after all.

“I asked several times for an explanation from the municipality, but did not get a conclusive answer. They even questioned my personal interest because I would live too far from the company, while our grandchildren are attending school there.”

Threat of restraining order

“In July 2021, Nollet filed a complaint against me for stalking. They also claim that I am conducting a long-standing smear campaign against their company, organizing petitions and even using inflammatory language against them. None of that is true.”

An additional statement from the Nollet family followed two months later, and then suddenly a formal notice fell in the mailbox, not only against Declercq himself but also against his wife and daughter. “We would have challenged the staff and we would have entered the property without permission, when all I am concerned about is the traffic situation in the public space.”

In late 2021, a stern reminder came on behalf of the Ypres prosecutor. Nor did it stop in 2022. In May of this year, Declercq had to appear in court. The case was postponed for hearing until October because Nollet’s counsel filed briefs. Thousands of euros in damages and a possible restraining order are hanging over Declercq’s head.

“This is exactly what is meant by SLAPP,” said Dirk Voorhoof, a member of the Council of Europe’s anti-SLAPP expert committee. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. It occurs when a person or company files a lawsuit against a critical party with the intention of intimidating and silencing it. Apache has also been a victim of SLAPP.

In June came another complaint from the company, this time for slander and defamation. For the umpteenth time, Declercq was summoned to the police commissariat in Veurne but was not told what was specifically included as slander and defamation.

Declercq feels heavily intimidated and is increasingly inclined to keep a low profile. Chilling effect, Voorhoof calls this. It’s a term lawyers use when pressure is put on someone to waive their constitutional right to free speech, by threatening a sanction or lawsuit.

“That chilling effect works not only on the threatened person himself, but also impacts the other villagers. They become frightened and understand that they had better keep quiet. Otherwise, they might also be called to appear in the police commissariat or in court.”

Concerns about expansionism

“This is how you create a barrier to participating in the debate on matters of public interest. Fear is something we should absolutely avoid in a democracy. Otherwise the real problems remain hidden,” Voorhoof argues.

That fear is already deeply ingrained in Pollinkhove. Although there are other villagers who worry about the company’s expansionism and truck traffic, they no longer dare to speak out openly about it. One of them, a middle-aged man, is willing to testify, provided it can be done completely anonymously. “I grew up in this village and have high regard for both the business owners and Rigobert,” he said.

“Rigobert asks legitimate questions. Concerns about the livability of our village should be negotiable. The municipal government should have brought all parties around the table to look at the problems with an open mind, but it stuck its head in the sand and just let things be.”

“Now deep wounds are being inflicted when all that was needed were answers. Answers they will have to give us sooner or later anyway. We too want to know what the long-term intentions are but no one can or will answer them. Why would people still want to live here? The baker and the village store are already gone from our village. What will soon be the fate of our little school?”

Possible relocation

That last question is not out of the blue. Last October, for example, it came to light through the public consultation on a spatial implementation plan in Lo-Reninge that there might be a relocation of the Lo-Reninge and Pollinkhove schools on the former site of the Jules Destrooper cookie factory.

Not only SLAPP is gagging active citizens. “Standing up for public interests can put pressure on your social life in many ways,” argues Bart Vanwildemeersch, policy officer for the West Flanders Environmental Federation, which, together with Greenpeace, provides support for Declercq and his family.

“Often this is done very implicitly, for example by putting pressure on the associations of which the complainant is a member. Things that were always obvious then threaten to fall away. No more free French fries from the company for the youth association where the complainant’s children are members, or start questioning the company’s support for school laptops through the parents’ committee. As a result, that association or parent committee urged the complainant to stop the protest.”

We contacted both the Feeders Nollet company and the municipality of Lo-Reninge but they did not respond to our questions.