Emotions run high during the walk-in meeting about the planned homes for 250 asylum seekers in Vries. “For me, the credibility of politics is completely gone.”
Residents of Vries were informed en masse at the town hall on Tuesday evening about the plans for a new neighborhood on the south side of Vries. Opposite the brand new Vries-Zuid residential area under construction, the municipality wants to realize homes for a maximum of 250 asylum seekers in combination with forty flexible homes, intended for starters, according to the municipality.
Unique concept
A unique reception concept, Mayor Marcel Thijsen previously said about the plans. Instead of a large asylum seeker center with barriers and a fence around it, the asylum seekers in the planned neighborhood in Vries live in semi-detached, three- and four-detached houses. However, just like at a normal asylum seeker centre, there is 24-hour guidance.
The municipality previously indicated that it was aware of the resistance such a plan would provoke. To prevent escalation and to enable substantive discussions, tonight’s format was chosen.
Chaos reigns
The idea: residents can talk about each part of the plan (the process, safety, the target group, communication) in small groups with people who know about it. And the practice? “Chaos reigns,” summarizes one visitor.
Mayor Marcel Thijsen and councilor Jurryt Vellinga stand apart from each other and with sweat on their brows to explain the plans and answer questions. Some questioners are visibly angry. Denise, in her thirties, is listening to the mayor. “They call this a unique opportunity, but I can tell you: it doesn’t feel like that for anyone,” she says.
Suddenly an asylum seekers’ center comes
The most common opinion from visitors: the plan is much too big for a small center like Vries. “We are not against shelter, but we think this is far too much,” say several people. Many residents, especially those who have just bought a plot in the new residential area opposite the planned location of the residential area for asylum seekers, also feel cheated by the municipality.
“All the plots of the new building have been sold, and suddenly there is an asylum center,” says Robert. “If they had announced the asylum center first, the price of those lots would have been a lot lower. Now they pretend it has no influence on that.”
Social rental housing sweetener
Robert and the fellow villager who joins in the conversation consider the forty social housing that the municipality has negotiated with COA as a ‘sweetener’. “If the choice were: no asylum seekers’ center, but also no forty rental properties, then I would know,” says Robert. “Then I will convert my garage into a room, so a young person can move in.”
Hilbrand and his partner have purchased a plot in the newly built Vries-Zuid district. He calls the municipality ‘devious’. “There were already rumors about an asylum seekers’ center in December. Then it was said: it will not come to Vries-Zuid. Now the municipality says: the other side of the road is not Vries-Zuid.”
Political credibility gone
He sighs. “All the shutters were closed at the municipality. If they had taken us then, we would be here differently.” Several buyers would like to return their lots, at the cost of a hefty fine. Fellow villager Robert: “My credibility in politics is completely gone.”
“This number is so large that I do not wish this on the municipality or on the asylum seekers,” says Harry de Ruiter, who is preparing to go home. He calls the evening a mockery. “I understand that it cannot be done in plenary, due to safety risks. That is sad. But this doesn’t work either. You cannot discuss the question: is this wise, are we doing the right things? You get sidelined on a night like this. I think it’s stupid from a political point of view.”
You’re throwing support away like this
He himself was involved in the reception of asylum seekers in his church. The actions of the municipality are close to his heart. “There is real support for asylum reception in this municipality. But you’re throwing that away with this approach.”
The new permanent shelter in Vries should replace the current temporary shelter locations in the municipality of Tynaarlo. The intention is that the residents of the former Bladergroenschool in Paterswolde (148 places), the emergency shelter in the Wapen van Vries hotel (39) and the business park in Tynaarlo (29) will move to the new district.
It is still unclear when the construction of the asylum shelter and starter homes in Vries will start, as procedures still have to be completed. The emergency shelter locations in the Wapen van Vries hotel and on the business park in Tynaarlo will close when the new shelter is ready.