1/1 Six beds, a kitchenette and a shower, perfect for Ukrainian refugees, says Peter Gilles.
Peter Gillis offers his holiday park Prinsenmeer in Asten to receive refugees from Ukraine. “When I saw those harrowing images on TV, it did something to me,” says the entrepreneur from Rijen. “You shouldn’t want that, so let’s help people.” As far as he is concerned, the refugees can already go to his park tomorrow, but the Brabant Southeast Security Region is not going to accept the offer for the time being.
These are chalets that can accommodate six people. The cottages are fully furnished with beds, a kitchenette, shower and toilet.
The Brabant Southeast Security Region, which decides where the refugees will be housed, announced on Friday evening that sufficient reception places have already been found. “The first thousand shelters for Ukrainian refugees have now been found in our region. These will be made available quickly in phases so that we can respond properly to a humane way of reception.”
‘Alternative for the future’
“We are currently not using the offer, but we do not know what will come our way, so the holiday park may be an alternative in the future,” said a spokesperson for the Security Region.
The holiday park is currently empty. For years 400 migrant workers lived there, but that housing was illegal because Gillis did not have a permit for it.
Penalty sum of 50,000 euros per day
In 2019, the municipality of Asten announced that the mainly Polish residents had to leave the Prinsenmeer holiday park. If that did not happen, a penalty of 50,000 euros per day, with a maximum of half a million, would be imposed to prevent Gillis from earning money from the rental of the chalets.
A lawsuit came to the Council of State, which also ruled in favor of the municipality. Finally, the last migrant workers left in April last year.
As owner of the Oostappen Group, Gillis has eight holiday parks in the Netherlands, including in Asten, Valkenswaard and Soerendonk. He also has three holiday parks in Belgium.
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