Municipality illegally adjusted environmental permit for Zandvoort circuit, court rules

A court has ruled that Zandvoort municipality was not authorized to grant a new environmental permit for the town’s race circuit. The Noord-Holland District Court determined that authority over the circuit’s environmental permit lies with the province, not the municipality. Since the province issued the original 1997 permit and oversees the circuit, Zandvoort’s municipal executive did not have the power to revise it in May 2024.

The scrapped 2024 permit set an average noise cap of around 55 decibels, allowing only minimal deviation. Environmental groups, such as Stichting Rust bij de Kust, said the limits remained too generous and were largely designed to protect the circuit’s operations rather than reduce nuisance.

The court’s decision automatically revives the 1997 permits, meaning the circuit is temporarily governed by older, less detailed noise and environmental rules than those the municipality had aimed to implement with the 2024 permit.

Zandvoort municipality said it is reviewing the ruling, maintaining that it believed it had the authority to grant the updated permit since the circuit lies within its boundaries. “We continue to support that view,” a spokesperson stated. With the municipality deemed unauthorized, the responsibility now falls to the province of Noord-Holland to determine whether to revise the 1997 permit to comply with current environmental regulations.

Several environmental groups and local residents challenged the revised permit in court, arguing that the updated rules fall short. They say stricter noise limits are needed to better protect both nearby residents and the environment.

Zandvoort has the option to challenge the decision at the Council of State, but a spokesperson said it is still unclear whether an appeal will be filed.

The judge affirmed that this rule, already in place under the previous Wabo framework, continues to apply under the new Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet).

A coalition of environmental groups, including Stichting Duinbehoud and local residents’ associations, brought the case. They have long campaigned against the circuit’s disturbances, which they argue are caused not just by Formula 1 events but mostly by amateur races and corporate events throughout the rest of the year.

While this ruling specifically addresses the municipality’s powers, it was previously announced that the Dutch Grand Prix will disappear from the F1 season after 2026.