The Genneper Watermolen (water mill) should continue to grind real grain and not fall into the hands of an entrepreneur who simply uses the mill as a decorative shop. That is what a lot of residents of Eindhoven and the surrounding area think. In just one weekend, the online signature campaign on this subject was signed more than 2,300 times.
Not just for show
The signature campaign is an initiative of Hans Kalkhoven and Annemie Driessen. Together they have put their hearts and souls into the mill. Since 2017, the pair of millers have been voluntarily processing grain from sources such as the Genneper Hoeve by grinding the grains in the millstone. But that is now coming to an end due to a court ruling. This says that the entrepreneur who was in the mill before will be allowed to return. This entrepreneur – his name is Van Stekelenburg – mainly sold animal feed in the Genneper Watermolen. “He only let the wheel turn for show” says miller Hans Kalkhoven. “He did not even use the grinding stones inside”.
Handing over the mill
At the time, this already prompted the Eindhoven municipality to evict entrepreneur Van Stekelenburg from the Genneper Watermolen, leaving volunteers Hans and Annemie to grind there. But after long litigation, the court ruled in favour of the entrepreneur after all. So there are now no legal options to prevent him from returning to the Genneper Watermolen. Officially, Kalkhoven has to hand over the mill empty on 1 November.
Signature campaign
The miller couple is pinning its last hopes on the signature campaign – and also hopes that the municipality will consider striking a bargain with the entrepreneur. The municipality’s current position in this is unknown.
Source: Studio040.nl
Translated by: Anitha Sevugan
