Knokke-Heist withdraws beach concession awards after Council of State ruling

Municipal executive is considering next steps after revoking concessions for beach bars and children's parks.

Generic image of a beach concession area in Flanders, with blurred elements of beach bars and children's play structures, under a cloudy sky. Focus on the general atmosphere of a coastal town, not specific details.
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Generic image of a beach concession area in Flanders, with blurred elements of beach bars and children's play structures, under a cloudy sky. Focus on the general atmosphere of a coastal town, not specific details.

The college of mayor and aldermen of Knokke-Heist on Thursday, October 29, 2026, decided to withdraw the award of beach concessions from August 28, 2026. This decision, affecting all beach bars and children's parks in the Heist, Duinbergen, Knokke, and Zoute zones, follows rulings by the Council of State.

Following a transparent market survey, the municipality received 36 proposals for 26 beach concessions (24 beach bars and 2 children's parks) for the period 2027-2035. On August 28, 2026, the college awarded the concessions based on the jury's evaluation report. Seven unsuccessful candidates subsequently asked the Council of State to suspend the award with utmost urgency.
On October 23, 2026, the Council of State provisionally suspended the execution of the award for the Duinbergen, Knokke, and Zoute zones. The municipality has since thoroughly examined the Council of State's remarks and has concluded that the award cannot be maintained in its current form. Therefore, the college is withdrawing the entire award, along with the evaluation report of August 26, 2026. This withdrawal nullifies the previous award decision; no concession agreements have been signed yet.
The municipality is now deliberating on the next steps and will only communicate again once a new decision has been made.
Based on information from the official source: Gemeente Knokke-Heist — Nieuws (30/10/2026)