Eindhoven is going to accommodate more asylum seekers. The city was working on a plan to accommodate 400 asylum seekers, but because of the influx of refugees, it has now become 900.
The mayor and alderpersons announced this in a letter to the city council. In November last year, the city council announced that Eindhoven would structurally accommodate 400 asylum seekers. That number has now been adjusted. According to the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) the need for additional reception locations has increased considerably in the meantime.
‘Moral duty’
“400 asylum seekers in Eindhoven now no longer does justice to the current national asylum task. The municipality feels a great social and moral duty to contribute to structural solutions for dignified reception,” the city council stated.
Locations
The municipality is now urgently looking for suitable reception locations. Talks are already underway with COA, property owners and housing corporations. Good care, education and safety in the neighbourhood are important conditions, says the city council. Mayor and alderpersons acknowledge that “the search for and realisation of these locations is a time-consuming and complex process, given the large shortage of housing and the pressure on space in Eindhoven.
Spread
A total of 77,000 reception places must be realised in the Netherlands by January, according to the government. According to the Eindhoven college, 900 asylum seekers is a fair share of the task at hand. With this, the city anticipates the dispersal law, which is expected to take effect soon. Municipalities will then be legally obliged to provide asylum reception.
Currently, nearly 100 asylum seekers are temporarily staying at Kanaaldijk-North. Also, 45 refugees are accommodated in Novotel Eindhoven. In addition, 1,000 refugees from Ukraine are being received in the city.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Lila Mehrez
