“I am not against the reception of refugees in Heemstede. But I am against reception in this building.” And a little later: “The municipality is trying to rush through this plan much too quickly.” These were frequently heard comments during a committee meeting tonight in Heemstede. On the agenda is the purchase of a villa on the Heemsteedse Dreef, where the municipality wants to receive dozens of young asylum seekers from next year.
A decision was not made tonight, but the public interest was not less. In the town hall in Heemstede, the council committee Society discussed the reception of the group of asylum seekers in a villa on the Heemsteedse Dreef.
More than 25 residents had requested speaking time. They all got five minutes. The respondents all believe that the building – for which the municipality paid two million euros – is not suitable for the reception of the 25 unaccompanied minor refugees.
Worry about nuisance
Dieuwke Barneveld lives right next to 156 Heemsteedse Dreef. She is worried about her young daughters. “The garden of number 156 is directly adjacent to my daughters’ bedroom. The municipality claims that the nuisance will not be too bad, but I do not trust that. I am not against the reception of refugees, but give us time to deal with this.”
Almost every speech could count on loud applause from the public gallery. But that was not the intention, said the chairman of the committee meeting. That turned out to fall on deaf ears: it certainly didn’t lessen the applause. When one resident said that these young refugees should also be given a chance and that it is very easy to find that a shelter is fine, “but not in our backyard”, there was some grumbling from the audience.
“If we had known this, we would not have bought this house”
A young neighbor of Dreef 156 has been living in her new owner-occupied home for just one month. She and her partner have young children. Her first experiences with the municipality of Heemstede are bad. “We get incomplete information and it is so short notice. There is no dialogue, no participation, we have sleepless nights. Had we known this, we would never have bought this house.”
Sander Faassen is a direct neighbor of the building. He, in turn, made mincemeat of the municipality’s financial underpinnings. “The documents state that the risk of planning damage is nil. But that can really run into the tens of millions. A broker says that the surrounding houses – and these are all owner-occupied homes – will become unsaleable. In any case, prices will drop sharply. ”
The residents of Heemsteden who came to have their say in the committee meeting were almost all disappointed by the fact that they were informed so late by the municipality. The municipality says that the talks with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers were completed late. And that the purchase of the property by the municipality must be completed before the summer recess.
Heemstede resident Joop Bos was one of the people who warmly welcomes the reception of young asylum seekers. “Young refugees have the right to shelter. That is a human right. My God loves all people, especially the most vulnerable. God now leaves the help of the needy to us here in Heemstede.”
Two million
The detached building at Heemsteeds Dreef 156 was purchased by the municipality for just under two million euros. However, subject to the condition that the city council approves the purchase. According to the agreements with neighboring municipalities, Heemstede must receive a total of 108 refugees.
More than an hour and a half after the meeting was opened, just over half of the speakers had their turn. And then the debate between the committee members and the responsible aldermen has yet to begin.
And so it will be a late night in the Town Hall in Heemstede.