New reception places have been found for a total of 900 refugees. The municipality of Boxtel (North Brabant) will temporarily receive 450 refugees at the Velder estate in Liempde. The municipalities of Purmerend and Edam-Volendam will also receive a total of 450 refugees, Zaanstreek-Waterland Security Region reports.
The refugees can stay in Boxtel from mid-October to mid-February next year, the municipality reports on its website. The estate will have residential units that are each suitable for four to five people. The fenced site, with its own entrance gate and security, also offers enough space for facilities such as recreational daytime activities, catering and sanitary facilities, according to the municipality.
Boxtel responds with the reception to requests from the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) and the government. According to Mayor Ronald van Meygaarden, the reception of a maximum of 450 refugees is needed to relieve the overcrowded application center in Ter Apel. “We have all seen the images from Ter Apel. We should not allow such a degrading situation to arise again, especially not with winter approaching. The great thing about Velder estate is that the people who are going to live there temporarily are also there. can really relax.”
Mayor Don Bijl of the municipality of Purmerend and mayor Lieke Sievers of the municipality of Edam-Volendam say in a joint written statement that “after so much misery and who is on the run from disaster or looking for a safe new home port, no one should sleep outside”. That is why from 1 October there will be a shelter for three months on the border of the two municipalities, on Visserijweg in Baanstee-Noord. This is an emergency shelter with several tents with basic facilities, according to the municipalities.