Nudists in Delft are going to court today to appeal against fines handed out by the city council last summer to people who took all their clothes of in the Delftse Hout park, according to the Volkskrant.

Last year the council closed the 30-year-old naturist beach in the park, saying it was necessary to stop a flood of complaints about outdoor sex. The closure led to 23 people being fined a total of 44 times.

Some of the fines were torn up in January after a judge ruled nudism would be permitted if there were fewer than 150 clothed people on the beach. If there were more people with clothes on at the time, he said, nudity should be considered a public nuisance and banned.

Approved

Naturism is allowed in Dutch law at allocated places and Delft council argues the beach has never been formally approved.

In an effort to get around the swimming costume quota and complaints about open air sex, the Dutch naturists’ association NFN has suggested a ban on nudity after 7pm.

Both it and the council say the swimming costume quota is unworkable. The NFN says the quota makes it impossible to go naked on sunny days. The council says the quota is difficult to enforce and it wants a total ban.

NFN spokesman Henk Jan Kamerbeek told the Volkskrant the Netherlands has ‘two million naturists and 14 million people who are not’. ‘You have to take them into account, which is why we always want the council to allocate a space.’

‘Usually we can reach a deal,’ Kamerbeek said. ‘But Delft city council would appear to want us out at any price.’