azc Drachten (Noorderend)
The asylum centre in Drachten saw a large disturbance in late April 2020 when two groups of residents fought and more than fifteen police units were deployed amid what officers called a grim atmosphere. The COA subsequently moved five residents to other centres as an exceptional measure, and a 16-year-old was arrested.
Occupancy
300
people (Aug 2025)
Per night
€80
per person (benchmark)
Annual
€8.8m
estimated
Background
The site sits at Noorderend, Drachten. It is run by the COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers), the Dutch government’s asylum-reception agency. For what the azc / noodopvang categories mean and how Dutch reception spending breaks down, open the cost panel on the interactive map with the Netherlands selected in Settings.
In the news
Apr 2020
Police deployed en masse for fight at AZC Drachten
More than fifteen police units intervened after two groups of residents fought; officers cited an earlier report that day and a grim atmosphere.
Omrop Fryslan · source
Apr 2020
Five people moved from AZC Drachten after incident, mood still tense
The COA relocated five residents to other centres as an exceptional measure following the brawl; a 16-year-old boy was arrested and the situation remained tense.
Omrop Fryslan · source
Compiled from public Dutch news reports (each item links to its source). Where a municipality runs more than one reception location, attribution to this specific address reflects the cited report and may be approximate — always check the linked source.
Timeline
Apr 2020
Mass police deployment for brawl
Two groups fought at the centre; more than fifteen police units responded and five residents were later relocated.
Cost
Dutch asylum reception is funded by central government through the COA. At an illustrative benchmark of about €80 per person per night for a regular centre, the 300 people recorded here on 13 August 2025 imply roughly €8.8m per year. This is an order-of-magnitude figure for context only, not a site-specific invoice — emergency reception typically runs around three times the cost of a regular centre.
Sources
COA / Rijksoverheid (Kamerstuk, 5 Sep 2025) · 2025-08-13. View source
Occupancy is the COA register snapshot of 13 August 2025 and may have changed since. Coordinates were geocoded from the published street address via the official PDOK Locatieserver.