The Expo Hall in Assen may be used by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) for three months longer. The agreement ran until January 1, but the hall can now be used as a waiting room at the registration center in Ter Apel until April 1.
The Expo Hall has been used as a waiting room since July and provides temporary shelter for up to 500 asylum seekers. The COA has other locations in mind that could serve as a waiting room, but not all of these are ready yet. The furnishing of these locations will start in January and will take a number of weeks. As soon as these locations open to receive asylum seekers, the reception in the Expo Hall will be phased out.
The municipality of Assen says it wants to continue to take responsibility in the current shelter crisis, but the plan is to end shelter in the Expo Hall as quickly as possible. It is expected that the emergency shelter in the Expo Hall will not be extended again after April.
Once an asylum seeker has registered in Ter Apel, it often takes a number of days until they are registered. The refugees are then placed in so-called ‘waiting rooms’, such as in the Expo Hall. The stay in Assen is no longer than five days.
The shelter in the Expo Hall is an emergency shelter and is therefore sober in nature. COA provides people with food, drinks, toiletries and a place to sleep. COA also provides activities to prevent boredom.