Court upholds Limburg lily-growing ban over health fears

Lily cultivation will remain prohibited next to a residential area in the Limburg village of Sevenum after the court of appeal in Den Bosch upheld an earlier ban.

The case was brought by 35 residents, some of whom live just tens of metres from the plot where lilies were due to be grown.

The court ruled that the high use of pesticides in lily cultivation could pose serious risks, particularly to vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. The ban will remain in place until the end of 2028.

Lily growers have now suffered three major legal setbacks in just over a year. A court in Roermond imposed the original ban in 2024, and in April the Council of State ruled in a separate case that lily cultivation could damage the environment and must be subject to permits.

In this latest ruling, the court also criticised the Dutch pesticide board CTGB for failing to consider public health risks in its approval procedures. The board has admitted not investigating the cumulative effects of using multiple pesticides at once.

Some scientists link the use of agricultural pesticides to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and to developmental problems in unborn children. Although the pesticides in question are legal, the court said this does not guarantee they are safe for use near homes.

The court also said the Netherlands had failed to properly implement the EU directive on the sustainable use of pesticides. That directive requires member states to minimise pesticide use near vulnerable groups, a condition not currently embedded in Dutch law.

In its 2024 judgment, the Roermond court found that the risk to public health outweighed the commercial interest of the grower, pointing to the exceptionally high volume of pesticides used in lily farming. Traces of these substances have been found kilometres away from the fields.

The grower initially chose not to appeal, but farming groups LTO and KAVB pushed for a legal challenge, calling the case a “sector-wide concern”. During the hearing, the grower said: “I’m here on behalf of all my colleagues.”

For now, the ruling applies only to the plot in Sevenum, but similar cases are pending elsewhere in the country. For example, a council in Drenthe is considering banning growing lilies near schools and residential areas over concerns about the impact of pesticides on children’s health.