Reception of asylum seekers in the Van der Valk hotel will open later

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) wants to accommodate 300 asylum seekers in the Van der Valk hotel on the outskirts of Uden for three years. The intention was for the shelter to open on October 1. COA will not meet that date. “COA needs more time to find people to work in the shelter and arrange things there,” Donders said.

Even if COA manages to arrange everything before November 1, it is not yet certain whether the municipality will allow them to open. “First all conditions must be met. For example, a safety plan still needs to be drawn up. And that is not finished yet,” says the acting mayor.

There was a lot of criticism of the acting mayor from the opposition. Various parties believe that they were involved in the plans for asylum reception far too late. “The council has been passed,” said Ruud Geerders of Simply Uden. “The residents have been sidelined,” adds Werner Snoeks of the SP.

The plans for the asylum reception were announced at the beginning of July. While discussions with Van der Valk already started in December. However, the acting mayor was unable to inform the council earlier. “Since March, there has been weekly contact with Van der Valk and COA to ask whether the agreement had already been completed. That wasn’t the case until June 30th. Only then could I inform the council and local residents,” Donders said.

There were about ten residents of Uden in the public gallery who did not agree with the plans. During the discussion in the council, the audience regularly booed. At the end of the discussion there was a brief disturbance. A man became angry and was kicked out by security.

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