Heritage group BOEi goes to court over exclusion from Seyss-Inquart bunker sale
A judge heard on Monday why the state excluded BOEi, the highest bidder, from the sale of the wartime bunker at Clingendael, which could leave one candidate in the running.
Heritage organisation BOEi challenged its exclusion from the sale of the Seyss-Inquart bunker in summary proceedings (kort geding) on Monday. The bunker stands in Clingendael park, on the border of Wassenaar and The Hague. The state property agency, the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (RVB), owns it and wants to sell it.
The hearing showed that BOEi made the highest bid and scored well with its ideas for the site. If it stays excluded, Hague property entrepreneur Jeroen de Wilde would be the only candidate left. The RVB would neither confirm nor deny this.
The bunker was built for Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the Reich Commissioner of the Netherlands during the German occupation. It is camouflaged as a farm and has a concrete roof four metres thick.
The state's case
The state says BOEi disqualified itself. It says the organisation shared its plans with third parties, against the rules of the bidding book (the sales brochure), and tried to contact competitor De Wilde four days before bids were due. The RVB says this was to agree on the bid price.
An independent bureau carried out an integrity investigation before BOEi was excluded. The state's lawyer told the court: "There is a thorough and careful procedure." She said BOEi had gone outside the rules.
BOEi's answer
BOEi director Arno Boon denies price-fixing. He said: "A conversation with De Wilde never took place." BOEi's lawyer told the court that participation under the Omgevingswet (the Environment and Planning Act) is mandatory to build public support, and that an October meeting was meant to update supporters.
Boon wants BOEi to be allowed to buy the bunker after all. He criticised the sale: "Stop the secrecy, the anonymous plans, ensure transparency. Citizens must really have a say."