Dutch Town Approves Asylum Centre in Former L'Oréal Building Despite Mass Protests and Street Violence
Uithoorn, 29 May 2026
Uithoorn has granted a 15-year permit to house 250 asylum seekers in a former L’Oréal headquarters, even as 1,500 protesters took to the streets and supporters were driven away by bottles and eggs.
A Permit Three Years in the Making
The decision did not arrive overnight. The municipality of Uithoorn, a town of roughly 30,000 residents situated just south of Amsterdam in the province of North Holland, began searching for asylum reception locations as far back as June 2023 [1]. By November 2024, the local council had formally voted in favour of housing up to 250 asylum seekers at the Wiegerbruinlaan site — the former Dutch headquarters of cosmetics giant L’Oréal — for a period of fifteen years [3][6]. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) followed up in May 2025 by submitting the formal application for an environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning) [3][6]. After more than a year of assessment — covering construction activities, fire safety, noise levels, and environmental standards — the college of mayor and aldermen granted that permit in the week of 25 May 2026, with the decision made public on 27 May 2026 [3][6]. The permit documents and associated research reports were made available for public inspection from 28 May 2026 via the official municipal announcements portal and the local participation page Uithoorndenktmee.nl [6].
What the Permit Covers — and What It Does Not
The omgevingsvergunning granted by Uithoorn’s municipal executive is specifically scoped to the physical building and its grounds on the Wiegerbruinlaan [3]. It addresses structural construction works, fire safety compliance, noise impact, and environmental requirements [3]. Critically, the permit does not govern matters such as the social safety profile of residents, the demographic composition of those housed, or the day-to-day operational management of the centre — elements that fall outside the statutory scope of an environmental permit under Dutch planning law [3][GPT]. Those operational and safety arrangements have, according to the municipality, already been agreed upon separately between Uithoorn and the COA and enshrined in a formal administrative agreement (bestuursovereenkomst) [3]. Alderman José de Robles described the decision as carrying “een morele verantwoordelijkheid waar het college van burgemeester en wethouders achter staat” — a moral responsibility that the municipal executive stands behind [1]. Looking ahead, the municipality has announced that a sounding board group (klankbordgroep), comprising local residents and business owners, will be established ahead of the centre’s opening to help integrate the facility into the neighbourhood [3][6]. The precise opening date remains unconfirmed at the time of writing [alert! ‘No opening date or move-in timeline has been confirmed in any of the provided sources’].
1,500 on the Streets: The Protest That Shook Uithoorn
The timing of the permit announcement — released on 27 May 2026, just one day before a widely publicised demonstration — drew sharp criticism from local opposition group Uithoorn in Verzet, who labelled the decision “bestuurlijk onverantwoord”, or administratively irresponsible [3]. On the evening of Thursday, 28 May 2026, approximately 1,500 people gathered in Uithoorn in protest [8]. The evening began at 19:30 at the Wiegerbruinlaan site itself, with a march proceeding towards the Amstelplein, where PVV (Party for Freedom) leader Geert Wilders was scheduled to address the crowd at approximately 20:15 [3]. Wilders, who has built his political career on an anti-immigration platform, used his address to invoke the rhetoric of demographic replacement, referencing “onze mensen vervangen” (replacing our people) and calling for “remigratie” (remigration) [2]. The demonstration was not, however, a one-sided affair: supporters of the asylum centre also gathered at the gemeentehuis to stage a counter-demonstration [2].
Supporters Pelted, Police Dogs Deployed
The evening rapidly descended into disorder. Supporters of the asylum centre were forced to abandon their counter-demonstration prematurely after being targeted by opponents, who hurled bottles, eggs, and set off smoke bombs in their direction [2]. Hundreds of opponents then marched from the proposed reception site to the town hall, where Wilders delivered his speech [2]. As a large group of protesters moved into an adjacent residential area, the Mobile Unit (Mobiele Eenheid, or ME) deployed police dogs and made multiple arrests on charges including incitement (opruiing), public violence (openlijke geweldpleging), and insult (belediging) [2]. This was not an isolated incident. In October 2025, a previous demonstration in Uithoorn had already escalated into serious unrest, with protesters throwing heavy fireworks and eggs at police officers, resulting in ME intervention and several arrests [1][2]. Even earlier, in September 2025, a group of between 100 and 150 people had attempted to force their way into the town hall [1]. The pattern of escalating confrontation over many months underscores the depth of feeling — on both sides — that this planning decision has provoked.
A Regional Flashpoint: The Amstelveen Border Dispute
The controversy in Uithoorn does not end at the Wiegerbruinlaan. The municipality finds itself simultaneously opposing a separate, proposed asylum centre planned by the neighbouring municipality of Amstelveen, located near their shared border in Amstelveen-Zuid [3][4][6]. Uithoorn’s municipal executive describes the site as “uitermate ongelukkig gekozen” — extremely poorly chosen — arguing that it sits far from Amstelveen’s own community and living infrastructure, yet immediately adjacent to the core facilities and residential areas of Uithoorn [4][6]. The municipality has stated categorically that it will not cooperate in any way with the development of that site, and will refuse permission for the land to be accessed via Uithoorn’s own road network or territory [4][6]. Talks are ongoing between Uithoorn, Amstelveen, the Province of North Holland, and the COA [6]. The parallel dispute illustrates a broader tension playing out across the Netherlands: as COA urgently seeks new reception locations to address a serious national shortage of shelter spaces for asylum seekers [1], host municipalities are increasingly pushing back — sometimes accepting obligations within their own borders while simultaneously resisting what they perceive as disproportionate regional concentration.
Context: A National Shortage, and a Slow-Moving Solution
The situation in Uithoorn is not an isolated case, but a microcosm of a national challenge. The nearby municipality of Loosdrecht, for example, agreed after protests to house fewer asylum seekers than originally planned [1]. Windows at Loosdrecht’s town hall were smashed on 28 April 2026 near the proposed reception site [1]. Nevertheless, the first asylum seekers arrived at a temporary emergency reception facility in Loosdrecht on 12 May 2026 [1] — demonstrating that, despite intense resistance, the machinery of reception policy does ultimately move forward. The COA continues to operate under significant pressure to identify and activate new locations, and each newly permitted site — including the 250-place centre on Uithoorn’s Wiegerbruinlaan — represents a tangible, if hard-won, addition to the national reception network [1][3][6]. For those currently awaiting placement in overcrowded or temporary facilities, the message from Uithoorn is that new spaces are being added, but that the process is contested, legally complex, and rarely swift.