From today, four of the seven 'Koloniën van Weldadigheid' ('Colonies of Benevolence', red.) have been declared UNESCO World Heritage. The honour was awarded to Wortel-Kolonie in Belgium and three other 200-year-old colonies in the Netherlands that once started as social agricultural projects to combat poverty and vagrancy. This makes Wortel-Kolonie first Flemish landscape to be recognised by UNESCO.

In recent years, Antea Group has supported the preparation of the UNESCO application for Kempens Landschap in various ways – together with partners from Flanders and the Netherlands. In anticipation of the increased popularity of the hertitage site, we created a concept access plan that mapped out the recreational opportunities for Wortel-Kolonie. We also drew up the provincial spatial implementation plan and performed the required environmental assessment for the site. We examined whether planning or policy measures were needed to safeguard the special value of the World Heritage. And finally, in collaboration with the City of Hoogstraten and the Onroerend Erfgoed Agency, we designed an integrated landscape management plan for the future management of this unique compartment landscape.

 

History Wortel-Kolonie

Wortel-Kolonie was founded in 1822 as a free argricultural colony. The 400 acres of land were made available to poor families to live and work on in small farms. This changed in 1870 when the Belgian state converted the site into an 'unfree' agricultural colony of 'Benevolence, designed with its now typical green avenues, fields and forests. Vagrants and beggars were forced to work there under surveillance until the laws for vagrancy were abolished in 1993. In order to protect Wortel-Kolonie and other natural heritage sites from decay, the Province of Antwerp formed vzw Kempens Landschap together with 39 local municipalities – designating it a protected landscape in 1999. Nowadays, the colony is a green oasis for every one to enjoy and where children can get a taste of farm life or learn about nature. Read more about the Wortel-Kolonie here.