The plan
Please note that the information on this page is not current
On May 27, 2025, the City Council decided to first establish its own frameworks for the reception of asylum seekers in Aalten. The college of mayor and aldermen awaits those frameworks before taking further steps.
The information on this website is based on the previously proposed plan. Therefore, it is not quite correct now. We do leave the pages online so you can read back what has been shared so far.
If there is new information, we will update this website.
The municipality of Aalten has investigated the possibilities of realizing a temporary reception site for asylum seekers at an undeveloped location within the municipality. From this research, the location on Singelweg, along the provincial road N313 (Hamelandroute) in Aalten emerged as the most promising. Other locations dropped out because of lesser accessibility, distance to facilities or the presence of nuisance contours (safety, noise).
The Singelweg site was also assessed by COA as the most suitable for short-term development. The land is owned by the municipality and the site is conveniently located to infrastructure and amenities. Its location near a residential area is also a positive point. This encourages the integration of asylum seekers into the local community and enables them to build a social network.
Temporary shelter within a future residential area
The shelter site is located in an area that the municipality wants to develop into a new residential area. This area will be laid out in two parts. In the first part, COA will place about 40 houses for the temporary reception of up to 300 asylum seekers. These will be sustainable flex housing made available to asylum seekers for ten years. There will also be spaces for communal, social and community activities (including education, healthcare, Refugee Council) and office spaces for COA employees.
The shelter will last for ten years. After that, this part of the area will be redeveloped for permanent housing. For the second part, plans are already being worked on for permanent, affordable housing, especially for first-time buyers. It is expected that the construction of these houses can start at about the same time as the realization of the temporary shelter. In this way, the temporary shelter fits well with the broader development of the residential area.
