From Monday, the municipality of Utrecht will realize two hundred extra temporary crisis shelters for asylum seekers from Ter Apel. This happens after an urgent request from the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). Mayor Sharon Dijksma calls it “unacceptable” that the application center in Ter Apel is “overflowing with crowds”.
The places will be in the former Holland Casino building near the Jaarbeurs. This concerns a maximum period of four weeks. The mayor and also chairman of the Utrecht Security Region announced this on Sunday. The shelters are intended for refugees from countries other than Ukraine.
The former building of the casino was already in the picture as a sustainable reception location for 500 asylum seekers for a period of six months to a year. For various reasons (including too high costs and fire safety), the COA then decided against using the building for refugees. It is suitable for emergency shelter, but renovations are necessary for more permanent residence.
Busy
It has been agreed that the group will leave after four weeks. In the meantime, COA continues to look for locations for the longer term. The pressure on the Ter Apel asylum seekers’ center is increasing due to, among other things, the long-standing lack of regular reception places. “Based on the expected inflow and outflow, a shortage of a total of 1,500 reception places can be expected as of April 1, says de Dijksma.
Yesterday COA built an extra pavilion in Ter Apel in Ter Apel, without permission from the municipality of Westerwolde, which Ter Apel falls under. Mayor Velema was therefore surprised, but according to the COA it was an emergency measure. “It was no longer possible due to hygienic conditions and safety.”