It’s a sigh of relief that pushed lesson scouts de Wilrijk. While they were in camp at Samrée, the young people had been ordered to leave the premises at 4 p.m. Wednesday, following a police order issued by the mayor of La Roche. The reason ? The scouts would have made too much noise and disturbed the neighbors. Nevertheless, the young people did not want to let it go and decided to launch an emergency procedure at the Council of State which ended in victory. Indeed, according to the Council of State, the mayor’s order was disproportionate to the acts committed.
The Wilrijk Scouts are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. From then on, their summer camp was to be a big party, but unfortunately, the place of their initial camp was already occupied. Due to this double booking, the youngsters from Wilrijk were forced to move to another location. A surprise for Marita Simons, the only neighbor of the land in question. “Around two o’clock I heard a noise outside, as if an army of fierce Vikings were standing in my yard. Of course, I was scared. I am a 75-year-old female, my husband has Parkinson’s disease and can no longer walk. I immediately called the mayor on Saturday morning,” she told our colleagues at the Nieuwsblad. The resident also revealed that she had found excrement on her land. “We helped this group of scouts with new land. They weren’t very grateful”, was then indignant Guy Gilloteaux, the mayor of La Roche-en-Ardenne.
Faced with these complaints, the scouts say they cleaned up their mess and heeded the remarks, being careful not to make too much noise. Nevertheless, during the Samrée flea market, several new residents came to complain to the mayor, pushing him to act with a police order. “It was the drop of water too much,” he told our colleagues. He also confided that he would never call the police to evict the youngsters from the field. “I am not inhuman. They are still children. The management knows that they must leave. It is up to them to respect the law,” he said.
In the end, nothing will happen since the Council of State has agreed with the Wilrijk scouts. Guy Gilloteaux said he would respect the decision even if he regrets it. “We are very satisfied. And no, we are not going to celebrate this decision with an exuberant party”, reacted the young people for their part.