Response from the municipality of Coevorden
The municipality of Coevorden has announced that it is the intention that the reception of Ukrainian refugees in the Ossehaar will last for a year. “That’s how we communicated it,” said spokesman Gert de Groot. “But we cannot guarantee that it will stop after a year. That depends on the situation in the world. If shelter is needed for more than a year, we do not want locations to suddenly become unavailable. That is why we have the applied for an environmental permit for a period of five years. I understand that this seems crazy, but it is also important to us that it does not take much longer.”
According to the municipality, this is because the procedure for a zoning plan for the building land, where the shelter is currently being placed, takes a year. “That overlaps each other. We wouldn’t be able to do anything with it in the coming year. Due to the emergency law and the order from the government, we can deviate from the zoning plan and quickly realize this reception. Hopefully it will no longer be possible after a year. necessary and we can start building on site.”
The municipality chooses the location on the Ossehaar for several reasons. It already owns the land, part of the sewage system was already in place and it is located in the city, where the other two reception centers in the municipality are located in or near a village.
About the reception of other refugees, the municipality writes in a letter to residents: “This shelter is intended for the reception of refugees from Ukraine. Ossehaar is not an intended location for an asylum seekers’ center. In view of the uncertain situation in the world, we cannot give any guarantees. that we will never take in other refugees here.”