Police brought an anti-asylum centre protest in Uitgeest to an end on Wednesday evening after demonstrators threw fireworks at the town hall, breaking at least one window.

The demonstration, held an hour before a council meeting, was the second protest against plans to build a joint asylum seekers’ centre on the border between Uitgeest and neighbouring Heemskerk.

The two councils are working together to meet their legal obligation to provide housing for refugees.

Protesters carried Dutch flags and banners reading “No asylum centre”, and at least one Prinsenvlag – a flag historically used by the Dutch nazi party.

Police kept the doors of the town hall closed, saying it was unsafe to allow people inside while councillors met behind large glass windows. After a firework hit one of the windows and shattered the glass, mayor Sebastiaan Nieuwland suspended the meeting.

As the police moved in, many demonstrators left the square, but a small group of men, many dressed in black and some hiding their faces, remained shouting slogans such as “No to an asylum centre”. Within minutes, police declared the protest over and ordered everyone to leave. No arrests were made and nobody was injured.

Mayor Nieuwland later condemned the violence, calling it “unworthy of Uitgeest”. “The right to demonstrate is part of our democracy,” he told NH Nieuws. “But destruction and intimidation have no place in it. We can never accept this behaviour.”

Protests against asylum centres and shelters have escalated in recent weeks, leading to dozens of arrests nationwide.

The demonstrations come as councils face mounting pressure from the government to create more housing for asylum seekers amid a continuing shortage of accommodation.

Local authorities warned last month that councils are being left to cope “on their own” and urged the caretaker government to take action.