Council pays €1m to move trailer park family to new location

A family who lived on a trailer park in Maastricht was given almost €1m by the city council to move three enormous caravans to a new location, current affairs show Nieuwsuur reports.


The cost of moving the three trailers was put at €95,000, the broadcaster said. The rest of the money was to be spent on concrete foundations, fencing and connections to gas and electricity.
The move was part of the council’s efforts to close down the Vinkenslag trailer park after a catalogue of complaints, including marijuana plantations, illegal car dumps and the intimidation of civil servants.
Over budget
The project was launched in 2003 and completed at the beginning of this year at a total cost of almost €45m, €10m over budget, Nieuwsuur said.
Nieuwsuur says the agreement with the family is also noteworthy because they failed a background investigation, which means they did not qualify for help with a new location.
Willem S’s company was illegally located at the site and he was also under tax office investigation. Last month he was sentenced to five years in jail for value-added tax fraud, Nieuwsuur said.
The family is appealing against the negative background checks and that case will be heard in court in January.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation