Noodopvang Bergschenhoek (Park De Polderpad)
An emergency shelter for asylum seekers (known locally as "Tobias 2", at Park de Polderpad / Tobias Asserlaan behind the town hall) opened in Bergschenhoek in July 2024 for up to 300 residents, replacing an earlier 50-place facility. The plans drew sustained local opposition, including two resident demonstrations in spring 2024 and a petition. In June 2025 the municipality scrapped proposals for a permanent asylum centre at other sites and decided the temporary shelter would instead remain open until 2030, owing to delays in a nearby housing development. In April 2026 a fire broke out in one of the rooms, forcing the evacuation of around 47 people, including 27 children, to the nearby municipal building; one man was arrested on suspicion of arson and residents were later able to return.
Occupancy
130
people (Aug 2025)
Per night
€184
per person (benchmark)
Annual
€8.7m
estimated
Background
The site sits at Park de Polderpad, Bergschenhoek. 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 2026
Asylum seekers can return to Bergschenhoek shelter after fire
A fire broke out in a room at the Park de Polderpad reception site, prompting the evacuation of about 27 children and 20 adults to the nearby Lansingerland municipal building. The blaze was extinguished within roughly an hour, one man was held on suspicion of arson, and residents were able to return to the location.
Dagblad010 · source
Jul 2024
Tobias 2 location opened to house 300 asylum seekers
De Heraut reports the semi-official opening of the new emergency shelter behind the town hall, after the council voted to raise capacity from 200 to 300 places.
De Heraut (Lansingerland) · source
Jun 2025
Permanent asylum centre off the table; Tobias 2 stays open to 2030
De Heraut reports the municipality dropped four other potential sites and decided the temporary Tobias Asserlaan shelter will remain in use until 2030 because of delays to the Wilderszijde housing development.
De Heraut (Lansingerland) · 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 2024
Resident demonstrations against the plans
Two protests by concerned residents take place in April and May; a petition opposes the shelter.
Jul 2024
Shelter for 300 opens
"Tobias 2" emergency location officially opened after the council approved 300 places.
Jun 2025
Permanent AZC dropped; shelter kept to 2030
Municipality abandons other long-term sites and extends the temporary shelter until 2030 amid housing-project delays.
Apr 2026
Fire forces evacuation; man held for arson
A fire that started in a room around 14:20 was put out within about an hour; roughly 47 people (27 children and 20 adults) were evacuated to the municipal building and one man was arrested on suspicion of arson. Residents could return afterwards.
Cost
Dutch asylum reception is funded by central government through the COA. At an illustrative benchmark of about €184 per person per night for emergency reception (noodopvang), the 130 people recorded here on 13 August 2025 imply roughly €8.7m 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.