A group of more than 30 people who live near the Van der Valk hotel in Uden want the asylum shelter there to not open for the time being. That demand was made on Thursday at the court in Den Bosch. They find it unacceptable that there is still no decision from the municipality against which they can possibly object.
“We are in no way against the reception of asylum seekers.” One of the local residents who spoke in court was very keen to emphasize this. What bothers local residents is that they believe the decision-making process of the municipality of Maashorst is flawed.
“If we are not careful, we will end up in a situation like Budel or Ter Apel,” the local resident continues. “We have to prevent that. We really want to live together with the asylum seekers. But then you have to arrange it properly. It must become a place we can be proud of. You shouldn’t rush through that.”
Tolerance decision
The reception organization COA wants to accommodate 300 asylum seekers in the hotel on the outskirts of Uden for a maximum of three years. These plans have been known since July. To make this possible, the zoning plan must be deviated from. The COA has submitted an application, but the municipality does not expect to make a decision on this until mid-January.
On the morning before the hearing, the municipality came up with a so-called tolerance decision. The municipality thus says that according to the zoning plan there is currently no shelter, but that it still allows it.
The municipality says it has been careful
Lawyer Danny Snijders is assisting the local residents. He is very critical of the municipality’s working methods. “The asylum seekers are dumped in the hotel and only then will a decision be made. That is a bad strategy by the municipality.” According to the lawyer, there is still no verifiable decision. “As a result, we do not know whether everything has been arranged properly and we cannot object if necessary,” says Snijders.
The municipality of Maashorst believes that it has acted carefully. Since July, there have been information evenings and a safety plan has been drawn up to prevent problems in the neighborhood. The municipality believes it is important that the asylum shelter in the hotel can open because the need is now great.
The local residents want to wait until the environmental permit is in place. They then ask for six weeks to assess it and possibly object. Only after those six weeks are asylum seekers allowed to enter the hotel if objections are rejected. The court will make its ruling on Friday, December 8.
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On Thursday morning, the municipality announced that the asylum shelter can open on December 11.