AnpThe headquarters where asylum seekers will be welcomed from mid-March.
In collaboration with
RTV East
NOS Nieuws·vandaag, 6.23pm
The municipality of Tubbergen has agreed to accommodate asylum seekers in the old Landhotel ‘t Elshuys in Albergen. The environmental permit required for the refuge is granted for at least five years.
The first asylum seekers are expected in mid-March. The building will have a total of 165 beds for a maximum of 150 people. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) says it offers asylum seekers as much privacy as possible and, for example, does not allow a family to sleep in a room with another asylum seeker. Consequently, the 165 beds will never be all occupied, as stated in the environmental authorization. The building is still under renovation.
150 objections
A total of 150 objections were submitted to the draft permit, writes RTV Oost. The complainants believe, among other things, that a center for asylum seekers of this size is not suitable within the municipality.
They also fear inconvenience and complain that nitrogen regulations should have applied to the asylum hotel. According to the municipality, these objections “give no reason to refuse the requested environmental permit”.
Controversial
Outgoing State Secretary Van der Burg announced in the summer of 2022 that 150 asylum seekers would be welcomed in Albergen. This was met with criticism and villagers often protested the arrival.
It was the first time the government had granted permits for a center for asylum seekers. The municipality of Tubbergen declared itself surprised by the decision. It later turned out that the municipality had known for weeks that it ran the risk of being forced to host a center for asylum seekers in Albergen.
Work stopped
Last year, renovations to the building were halted for a few weeks because the COA began renovating the electricity in the building while the permit had not yet been fully obtained.
The municipality had previously announced the stop of the works because the drainage pipes had been installed without authorization. The COA assumed that exhaust pipes were not covered by the permit.
A collective of residents says it will read the environmental permit carefully and consider opinions: “And then we will evaluate what our next steps might be,” the collective says.
Residents have six weeks to object to the permit.
2024-01-12 17:23:34
#Permit #completed #asylum #seeker #center #Albergen #residents #expected #March