Leidsch Dagblad, 25 Jan. 2001, p. 13:
The Council of State finds in Favor of the Town-
Remains of the Vrouwekerk Can Be Torn DownLeiden. Robbert Minkhorst.
Translated by Jeremy Bangs
There's nothing wrong with the demolition permit for the wall remains of the Vrouwekerk in Leiden. That has been determined by the Council of State. Leiden can just tear the ruin down.
On 7 November, the Arent van 's-Gravesande Foundation, neighborhood resident J. Kloeg, and the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum opposed the demolition permit that the city had granted to itself in 1995.
It was a higher appeal against the decision of the government-judge from 1999. He had already found against the plaintiffs.
The three opponents of demolition argued before the Council of State that the town did not care about the wall remains, which are of great historical significance.
Although not much is left of the church, it still counts as a National Monument. Jeremy Bangs of the Pilgrim Museum maintains that the American ancestors, English religious refugees, went to church there before they stepped on board the Mayflower. According to Kloeg's lawyer, the town would be acting in conflict with the Monument Law if it demolishes the remains.
In essence, Leiden does not deny that it doesn't care much about the wall remains. The ruin is becoming decrepit, is used as a urinal, a place to let out dogs, and is seen as a stage for graffiti sprayers. the Square has not become what the town expected. The town's lawyer said, "There was the hope for a lively square, and the Vrouwekerk has only been a rotten tooth there."
The Council of State declared the Pilgrim Museum not admissable on procedural grounds. The court had already done that. The two other plaintiffs, Kloeg and the Arent van 's Gravesande Foundation, accused the town of not going to work carefully, but the Council of State found nothing like that. "The advices that were obtained were, it is true, brief, but were not improperly motivated." Leiden is also not acting in conflict with the Monument Law if it demolishes the remains because of "urban planning considerations" (a prettier square).
"It is also irrelevant whether or not the Minister of Culture grants permission, which is required when alterations are carried out on monuments for which national subsidy has been given. If any infringement is in question that can only lead to a demand for restitution of the subsidy."
With the decision of the Council of State, opposition to demolition can only continue outside the court room. Museum-director Bangs has been seeking for support on the internet for some time. Ahold has threatened to pull back as a financer of the Aalmarkt Project if the town demolishes "Pilgrim monuments." That happened after Americans bombarded the company with letters and e-mails. The Leiden historian Piet de Baar has declared that the Vrouwekerk is not a monument of the English, but of the Walloon religious refugees.