The municipality of Pekela will have a new district of flexible housing, partly for status holders. The first houses may already be ready by the end of this year. Five questions and answers.
What is the basis for the construction of the new residential area?
The ten Groningen municipalities signed a deal with the government last year, the so-called Groningen Agreement. It states what contribution each of those municipalities will make in 2023 and 2024 to the reception of asylum seekers and Ukrainians and/or the construction of flexible housing for status holders, among others. By building 68 such homes, 34 of which are intended for status holders, Pekela is fulfilling its part of the agreement.
Is Pekela the only municipality that will receive flexible housing?
In principle no. According to the Agreement, Het Hogeland, Oldambt, Stadskanaal and Westerkwartier will also receive such houses. A total of 278 are to be built. However, Pekela is the first to have a very concrete plan on the table. This is also because it has a place where the 68 flexible homes can be built: the site on the Hooiweg, on the edge of Oude Pekela, where a regular asylum seeker center stood for years. That has been demolished and there is now an open area. That site has utilities, is zoned ‘residential’ and belongs to the municipality. In short, there are no obstacles when it comes to the construction of a new ‘flexible district’.
Who will benefit from the new residential area?
The relevant status holders who are housed in those 34 houses. They are waiting for a home in an asylum center somewhere in the country and are now getting it. These status holders have actually been assigned by the government to other Groningen municipalities that, however, do not have a home in the short term. The pressure on those municipalities to find housing for status holders will thus be reduced somewhat. Home seekers in Pekela also benefit. Because the other 34 flex homes are intended for them. And in the longer term, the entire neighborhood will be for Pekelders. Because part of the agreement is that status holders will live in the flex district for a maximum of ten years. Finally, the district is also good for the asylum center in Ter Apel. After all, every status holder who leaves a regular asylum seekers’ center improves the ‘flow’ of asylum seekers from Ter Apel.
How is the development of the flex district in Oude Pekela progressing?
The municipality of Pekela will soon receive more than 800,000 euros from the government to prepare the construction of the district. The site must be made ready for construction again. At the end of February, the municipal council will decide whether 20 million euros will be made available. That’s how much it costs to build the neighborhood. Pekela will receive that amount back in the coming years. Partly from the COA, partly from the rent that the residents will pay. That rent goes to the municipality. Mayor Kuin hopes that the first houses can be occupied by the end of this year.
Logically, not all status holders in the new district will have work. Does Pekela pay their benefits?
No, these social charges are for the municipalities to which the relevant status holders are assigned. Suppose a family of status holders who have been allocated to the municipality of Groningen by the government comes to live in one of the flexible homes, then that municipality will pay such costs.