Dutch town buys holiday park to house Ukrainian refugees

A file photo of a typical Dutch holiday park. Photo: Depositphotos.com

A Dutch local authority plans to buy a complete holiday park to serve as temporary accommodation for refugees from Ukraine.

The De Blekkenhorst camping in Den Ham, some 35 kilometres east of Zwolle, will house between 150 and 200 Ukrainian nationals by the end of the year but, according to the AD “there is no room for other refugees”.

Twenterand council officials plan to pay €2.2 million for the holiday park, which will enable it to meet its obligations from the province to house 191 Ukrainians. The local authority has bought the complete site including all facilities, such as a swimming pool, because the owner wanted to sell.

The site is a mixture of wooden chalets and lodges and some 30 chalets will be added to the total amount of permanent accommodation before the Ukrainians move in.

“Once the war is over and the Ukrainians have gone home, we will sell it again,” mayor Hans Broekhuizen told the paper.

A small group of Ukrainians already live at the site and people who want to rent space for their own caravans and tents can continue to do so, Broekhuizen said.

The full council will vote on the plan after the summer break.

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