“No asylum seekers come here to De Nieuwe Ram”

28-03-2024

Chief

HALSTEREN – Hotel De Nieuwe Ram will expand, but no asylum seekers or migrant workers will come: “Not today, not tomorrow and not in three years,” says entrepreneur Jan Geers to a room full of local residents. They are still not satisfied with it and certainly do not hide it.

It was evening when Jan Geers would update his immediate neighbors about his plans. He thinks it’s a deal Halsteren can be proud of. If it were him, De Nieuwe Ram would be a modern three-star hotel with 70 rooms, a restaurant with 175 seats, a large terrace and a two-story parking lot with 75 parking spaces. In his own words, it fulfills a great need: “There is a great demand for hotel rooms among the leisure and business audience, which is very rare in the area. There are many industries in Bergen op Zoom, Halsteren and Tholen, we receive calls every week from companies asking if there are rooms available. With this initiative we meet the need and create a hotel where everyone is welcome. Halsteren can be proud of this.

Rumors surfaced on social media that Geers intended to shelter asylum seekers in his newly built hotel. This led to a long queue at the entrance of De Nieuwe Ram on March 19. What was supposed to be an environmental discussion with nearby neighbors turned into a room filled to the brim with anxious and often angry Halster residents. Architect Martijn van Voorden, clearly afraid of his angry audience, submitted the plans and immediately made a mistake about the height of the hotel. With two penthouses on the roof – the Geers will live in one of them – the building will be 21 meters high, but Van Voorden accidentally spoke about 31 meters.

Objection

At the same time, Geers received all kinds of accusations. He would not consider the noise pollution or the privacy of the neighbors, he would plan very few parking spaces, causing nuisance, high buildings would not have rights because other entrepreneurs are allowed to build only seven meters according to the area plan. , and his plans would be “very bad”. Geers kept his patience and removed all objections. He patiently explained that the municipality still has to decide on the required amendments to the zoning plan and the environmental permit, and that objections are still possible and that the prepared plan meets the amount of parking used by the municipality.

Socially

Geers responded by saying: “I give my word: no asylum seekers will come here.” Some residents of the area noted that the Ukrainian refugees that De Nieuwe Ram is currently receiving are causing a disturbance in the neighborhood: “They were in my garden!” Geers says he has never had any complaints about Ukrainians staying at his hotel: “I invite you to explain who is causing the trouble and then we will take action, but we have never received any complaints. Yes, we will continue to accept Ukrainian refugees as long as the war continues. I think that is a social responsibility. But asylum seekers? No, that’s why the center for asylum seekers is at Plein 13. They don’t come to us at all.”

environmental principle

The report on the withdrawn environmental permit was explained by the architect: “For the new environmental law, all kinds of things must be checked. We forgot one check mark in our first program. To be able to submit a new application, the first application must be withdrawn. That’s where it went wrong.” Only one of the hundreds of attendees stood on the side of Geers, saying that almost all the objections and concerns of the audience are municipal: “It does not belong to the entrepreneur.” Geers is pleased with the words: “It’s a shame that some troublemakers on social media have drawn a black curtain over our plans for De Nieuwe Ram. I read that this will be Ter Apel 2.0. It’s a shame to read that, when we just want Halsteren to be proud of De Nieuwe Ram.

Before the evening started, Jan Geers read several threats against him on social networks. However, one day after the charged meeting, there was relief: “After the meeting, I still got good comments from various attendees. And people were also more positive on social media,” he says.

But what if the hotel doesn’t start running after all? “I also know that now, and certainly in the future, there is a growing need for places for the elderly. Maybe our hotel can fulfill the work there, for the people who have built the community. But we cannot predict the future. What I do know is that there is a great demand for hotel rooms, and that with our plan we can meet it in a good way. I support that, and that is the true story. I’m glad I was able to say that.”