Overview
- Apeldoorn will use a vacant school in the De Maten district to host up to 240 people for about a year, with the COA managing the site.
- Following the minister’s plea for capacity, several towns added short‑term sites in schools, hotels and churches, including Schagen, Breda, IJsselstein, Dronten, Almere and Leiden.
- Epe set a daily penalty of €63,480, capped at €11.4 million, if the Fletcher Hotel shelter does not close, and Almelo warned it will fine over prolonged hotel stays by people with residence permits.
- COA says it cannot shut sites because there are no open beds elsewhere and it has applied to extend the Terneuzen former‑library shelter for three years.
- The Ter Apel registration center holds about 2,100 people, and COA has already paid large penalties to Westerwolde (about €6.5 million) and Hardenberg (nearly €1.3 million), showing how enforcement has become a key tool for municipalities.