Tilburg designates two locations for asylum seeker reception

(T)home in Tilburg

The municipality finds it important that everyone in Tilburg can find affordable, sustainable, and suitable housing. Now and in the future. Therefore, the municipality adds future-proof homes in vital neighborhoods, with the right care, support, and guidance for those who need it. Accommodating refugees is also part of this vision on housing.

Our responsibility

Tilburg already accommodates refugees within the municipality. With increasing unrest in the world and the arrival of more refugees, the Netherlands faces a major reception challenge. In cooperation with the Hart van Brabant region, agreements have been made about how many refugees each participating municipality must accommodate. Tilburg is responsible for at least:

• 350 reception places for asylum seekers;
• 99 places for minor refugees;
• 1,151 places for Ukrainian refugees.

In the long term, Tilburg wants to build small reception locations that fit well within new housing projects in the municipality. But because reception is already needed at this moment, the Executive Board is already making decisions to organize this reception now.

Designation of locations for asylum reception

In October 2024, the Executive Board designated several promising locations for refugee reception in the municipality. After research, both locations have now been spatially and financially assessed as suitable for asylum reception. This assessment took into account social impact, urban planning, traffic, environment, safety, and ecology. The costs also fit within the budget made available by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).

The Executive Boards decision means that Gershwinstraat will accommodate 175 asylum seekers for a maximum period of 5 years and Spoorlaan 446-448 will accommodate 175 asylum seekers for a period of 15 years. In the case of Spoorlaan, this is more than the previously indicated 100 places in the Executive Board decision of October 2024. According to the current planning, the reception locations can be put into use in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Both plans can only proceed definitively if the municipal council agrees.

No housing construction at Gershwinstraat

Earlier, the plan was to build 50 temporary homes next to the reception at Gershwinstraat for urgent seekers and students from the neighborhood, without care needs. The municipality has spoken with housing corporations and landlords, but no party was found willing to invest in 50 homes for 5 years at Gershwinstraat. Not even if they were flexible homes that would later move to another location in the municipality. Therefore, this plan is unfortunately not feasible.

Research into housing at Spoorlaan 446-448

For Spoorlaan 446-448, the municipality is investigating possibilities together with TBV Wonen for a mixed housing concept on the site behind the building, currently used for parking. Different groups of people can then live together here, such as current Tilburg residents (think students and urgent seekers) and new Tilburg residents (such as refugees and status holders). While awaiting this research, the reception location is already being set up together with the COA.

A good start, together with the neighborhood

New residents of Tilburg get the chance from day one to build their lives here. Together with social organizations, the municipality provides education, care, volunteer work, and neighborhood meetings. This creates a good start, with support from neighbors and local partners.

Involvement of residents

Within a week, the municipality organizes information meetings for residents near both locations. Afterwards, interested parties are invited to participate in a planning team. Here, people think together about how the reception locations best fit into the neighborhood, so that everyone can live together in a pleasant and safe way.

Want to know more about our reception locations in the municipality of Tilburg? Visit the Welcome to Tilburg page