The works are part of the government’s Master Plan on Coastal Safety, a plan to protect Flanders – and in particular the polder hinterland of West Flanders – from any rise in sea level due to global climate change.

Flanders, after the Netherlands, is the most vulnerable region in Europe in terms of flooding, with 15% of the total surface area less than five metres above sea level. One in three people in West Flanders lives in the low-lying polder area. In the period from 1970 to 2010, the sea level rose by 103mm in Ostend, 115mm in Nieuwpoort and 133mm in Zeebrugge. In 2007, the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change estimated that global sea levels would rise by 18 to 59cm over the course of the 21st century.

The new plan places a priority on the execution of Master Plan works, while allowing the installation of “temporary or permanent constructions for commercial and recreational equipment accessible to the public, in specific places along the coast”. Those include such installations as beach pavilions, terraces and stages for special events. Among the spots named in the projects are the beach by the casino in Knokke, with more space for winter events; the King Beach in Blankenberge and the casino in Middelkerke.

“These provincial projects offer new development opportunities for tourism and water sports, while taking into account the important natural worth of the Flemish coast,” Muyters said. “Above all, they provide us with the concrete possibilities for raising our coastal protection measures to a higher level.”

Muyters and Schauvliege also last week jointly welcomed the formation of a new co-operation system that allows the Flemish government to complete all phases of uncontested appropriation of land. In the past, Flanders was by law required to turn certain phases of the procedure over to the federal government, which led to delays in some areas of up to five years. In future, the entire procedure will be covered by an agreement between the Flemish service for real estate matters (VDVA) and the Flemish land agency VLM.

“This cooperation will bundle the expertise of the VDVA and the VLM to ensure the faster progress of investment projects,” Schauvliege said.