A big bang in Upper Styria: After Spital am Semmering, the next major refugee reception facility in Kindberg is now closing! The number of asylum applications has fallen recently and the state government is celebrating.
In February 2023, the waves rose in Kindberg: the first refugees with special care needs arrived in the former state nursing home, which had previously been converted into large asylum accommodations. The building was empty until 2018 and was then purchased by a real estate agency from Graz. This leased the building to the BBU, the Federal Agency for Care and Support Services, from the end of 2022.
After a few months, the next excitement followed: the municipality withdrew the use permit for the house, which was designed for a maximum of 250 people – during an inspection the mayor had discovered some serious defects. The BBU immediately challenged the decision, “just a few weeks ago the illegal decision was remedied by the administrative court,” the Interior Ministry said.
Now, just three weeks before the state elections, there is a big bang: the federal government will close the Kindberg asylum center at the beginning of the second half of November! The reason: the sharp drop in the number of asylum applications (by about 60 percent compared to the previous year). The asylum accommodation in Spital am Semmering was already closed in September.
“The occupation of 250 people in Kindberg was only reached for a short time. Since April 2023, an average of 50 to 60 people have received basic care,” the ministry said.
State leaders celebrate shortly before the state elections
The state government is now cheering: “The fact that activities in Kindberg will soon be stopped is important and good news. We continued to insist on this. The next goal should be that, as the numbers continue to decline, the last remaining federal accommodation in Graz-Andritz is no longer needed,” say ÖVP state governor Christopher Drexler and his red deputy Anton Lang.
Source: Krone
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