An abandoned hangar with protected architectural status is to be converted by the municipality of Ostend into a brothel to accommodate sex workers being moved out of the Belgian seaside town’s red-light district.
The so-called “mega brothel” – to be known as the Hangar d’amour – will be run by a company that already manages a 51-bedroom brothel in Antwerp, known as Villa Tinto.
Ostend’s red-light district, Hazegras, will be cleared under the plan. The hanger will also accommodate a bar, brewery and plaza once the conversion is complete.
The plans have been described as “madness” by the non-profit group, Oostendse Oosteroever, which had been campaigning for the hangar to be turned into a museum to celebrate the town’s maritime past.
Prostitution is legal in Belgium and since 1995 the renting of premises for such purposes has been permitted.
Around 26,000 women are believed to work in the sex industry in the country. The authorities estimate that 80% of them are victims of people trafficking or exploitation by organised crime gangs.
Ostend’s mayor, Johan Vande Lanotte, claimed the new arrangement would offer more security.
He said: “The ladies will enter into a rental contract directly with the owner, as a result of which intermediaries will be excluded.
“The conditions will be better, and the sector will be purified. Abuses will be excluded or certainly limited. There will also be a health centre, an information desk and a room for the police.”
The hangar’s exterior cannot be changed under Belgian law but the developers with whom the municipality is working will have the freedom to renovate the interior.
