The empty office building on the Hoevestein in Oosterhout where asylum seekers would be taken care of is not suitable for that. The municipality and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) had already looked at the location since June 2024. For legal reasons, there is now a line through the plans.
In the office building on the Hoevestein, 250 people would be taken care of from the second half of this year. According to the Spreading Act, the municipality must offer reception to 322 people from 1 July. But according to a spokesperson, that deadline would not be met.
In September last year, the municipality and the COA discovered that the buildings on the Hoevestein can only be used as an office. In the following months they investigated how people could still be taken care of at the location. That appears not to be possible now. “This location does not fit within our legal and resulting financial frameworks,” the municipality reports.
The municipality and the COA are now looking for a different reception location together. The municipal spokesperson thinks it is not realistic that a new location will be found before 1 July to comply with the Spreading Act.
Mayor Gerdo van Grootheest does promise the COA by looking for a suitable location that meets the legal task and is feasible locally. “As a municipality, we continue to commit ourselves to taking our responsibility in the national issue of care of asylum seekers,” the mayor reports.