Increasing rules putting Easter bonfires under pressure
As per tradition, hundreds of Easter bonfires will be lit in the Nehtelrands on Easter Sunday, especially in the east of the country. But this established tradition is under pressure due to increasingly strict regulations, NOS and the regional broadcasters reported.
Most Easter bonfires are lit in Overijssel. It is also an important tradition in Groningen, Drenthe, and Gelderland. This year, there will be slightly fewer bonfires than last year.
Since the introduction of the new Environment and Planning Act in 2024, new rules apply to bonfires. Organizers must meet many more conditions to obtain a permit and must go through various authorities to do so.
In Huissen, Gelderland, the Easter bonfire is no longer happening after nearly 100 years. “It is no longer feasible due to regulations and costs,” Jan Wannet of the organization behind the bonfire told the broadcasters. “An event permit from the municipality, nitrogen calculations for the province, traffic controllers need to be hired, and first aid and fire department personnel must be present. Moreover, all those people have to be paid.”
Other Easter bonfires have also been canceled. In Nieuw Roden in Drenthe, there will be no Easter bonfire because the location is no longer available, and the organizers did not feel it would be worth it to search for a new spot. “Then you have to submit a new application again, and that wouldn’t work anyway with the new regulations,” a spokesperson said.
Organizers of the bonfires that are happening this year all lament the mountain of work. “Applying for a permit takes a very long time,” said Jos Beunk of the Bekveld neighborhood association. “We started to worry. All in all, it took 10 to 12 weeks.”
Dinand Wullink of the Easter bonfire in Velswijk and Ham Stoker from Ter Apel also mentioned the extra bureaucracy. Before the new law, having a bonfire was a matter of seeing which way the wind blows and making sure people were keeping an eye on the fire, Stoker said. Now they have to report all sorts of things to the municipality and province. “Even the number of cubic meters of pruning waste that goes onto the Easter bonfire pile,” he said. “How do you measure an Easter bonfire in cubic meters?”
The costs have also grown explosively. “Five years ago, we had a permit for €30. Now we are spending between €700 and €800. Come on, it’s just a little fire,” Wullink said.
The province of Drenthe acknowledged that the future of Easter bonfires is under pressure. “Where possible, we are doing our bit to keep this tradition alive,” a spokesperson said.
The province of Gelderland is also doing what it can. In Gelderland, existing Easter bonfires that have been taking place in the same location for years won’t require an extra permit or nitrogen calculation until 2030. “We acknowledge that this is becoming increasingly difficult for organizers,” a spokesperson said.
