Llanelli Rural Council Leader, Cllr Sue Lewis has denounced controversial plans to possibly convert the Stradey Park Hotel into contingency initial accommodation to house over 300 asylum seekers whilst their applications for asylum in the United Kingdom are being processed and reviewed by the Home Office.
Cllr Lewis remarked: “The notion being considered by the Home Office cannot be supported as it doesn’t make sense on so many levels.
“Personally, I am greatly concerned by the news and I know my fellow councillors feel like I do and share my concerns about the detrimental impact this will have locally on the hotel and its staff but moreover, the residents of the village of Furnace and the wider community of Llanelli.
“The council will be fully discussing the issue at its forthcoming meeting on 13 June with a view of lobbying the Home Office not to proceed with such a controversial and ill-considered proposal.
“Placing a large number of asylum seekers in one venue or one particular location in Llanelli is not the answer. Put simply, Llanelli is not equipped to cater for such a large processing facility. It will significantly increase pressure on all the public service agencies but particularly Carmarthenshire County Council and Hywel Dda University Health Board.
“If this goes ahead it will have a significant and negative impact on services and will completely transform the village of Furnace. School places and access to local health services and GP services are already over-stretched, not only this but who will have to pick up the bill? I’m sure it won’t be the Home Office.
“I am very concerned about the impact this will have on the future status and standing of the Stradey Park Hotel and the general community. I’m sure I speak for all councillors when I say the council fully supports Carmarthenshire County Council’s dispersed model for accommodating asylum seekers across Carmarthenshire. This model seeks to integrate asylum seekers in a more measured and sustainable way. It has already been successful as we have seen with the successful resettlement of Syrian, Afghan, Ukrainian and other general asylum seekers in recent times.
“I fully support Carmarthenshire County Council pursuing this with the utmost importance with the Home Office in the hope of preventing it from going ahead.”
The home office has announced that this is going ahead & asylum seekers will be moved in on the 3rd of July.
Stuart Farrell Hughes disgusting 🤬🤬
Surely this can’t go ahead without change of use, risk assessment and fire assessment. How can they state “asylum seekers” will be moved in on 3 July….. Brown envelopes?
Karen Sands the fire assessment was done on the 16th May, I was at the hotel that day. And the health and safety assessment was done the same day!
I still think its inhumane to put 207 people in a 70 odd bed hotel some will be single rooms and apparently families, Also they will defo have some mental issues they need support with. With a back log of 170K people they will be there a long time. Plus the owners will be in no rush to get them out as they get something like £4350 a month per person. I have seen zero input from the Welsh assembly in any of this. Really no idea how they will be supported as local NHS is still struggling,, Lack of homes to move them on to etc.. I do appreciate they need help, but sure they should be based closer to Cardiff if anywhere.
Gareth R Thomas where on earth did you get the figure of £4350 a month per person? that’s almost a Million £ a month just for the 207, not accounting for the additional 107 many are talking about that will be house in communal areas – emergency accommodation
Ben Thomas irs around £930K a month, numbers taken from Times, the Week, the Mail and other publications. Sorry where in the hotel are there any communal areas to put people, they only have an events room and restaurant. Also they have already to written to people having wedding there over the summer their event are still OK, so the only place left to put people are in the rooms. There are only 600 people in the village, there is no real infrastructure for that level of extra people. I know these people need help but with 170K back log they are going to be there a long time. The high court in some areas have blocked the Gov from putting people in hotels. For 1 room for 1 week 2 adults and 1 child the strady park charge £1,409.00 for B&B. 4 weeks would be £5636. This does not include the other meals.
I’m against it, but I think those figures are absolute nonsense which doesn’t help anybody when people spout such things. I can’t see anybody actually having a wedding at a hotel full of asylum seekers so there will in effect be a fair amount of space freed up for ’emergency accommodation’
Gareth R Thomas ye and they will get the support they need for their mental health as soon as. But yet the people of Carmarthenshire have to be put on long waiting lists. Or worse take their lives. It’s not fair. Yes pity they need help but the government should be looking after us first.
Shereen Smith My one mate has just taken 2 years just to get a phone call counselling appointment. There is not enough support in the area whoever needs it. Plus I really don’t know how you do counseling for people who may have very limited language ability.
Ben Thomas Well they need help, but think it should be nearer Cardiff wheres theres more support. Have alook at this, it mirrors what I read with the other media publications. https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/509/cost-of-housing-asylum-seekers-in-hotels
Gareth R Thomas we’ve waited 6 years for a autistic referral. Still waiting.
Shereen Smith Rubbish situation, the NHS has not recovered from covid , but think it was strugglng before that. Hope you get a lucky break
Gareth R Thomas ty.
Gareth R Thomas if there’s truth in any of that it’s mental. Families live and manage to pay mortgages on significantly less money. What a complete shit show.
https://twitter.com/prifweinidog/status/1427656430224613386
Surely the authority in the area gets a say in what happens in thier area. What right has some no mark in London got to say that you are having 300 immigrants in a top hotel that people have planned thier weddings at and basically it’s tough luck on them 🤬🤬🤬. Tell you what put them up in the Ritz or some other swanky hotel in London see how they like it. Better still get the bloody cases started getting sorted. If you got money to put them in hotels pay the extra staff you need and get on with it. Before the British people end up a minority in their own bloody country. The 300 will probably be all men. Making it a security problem so more money spent.
Susan Welsh the local MPs voted for open borders in the house of commons.
LEE Waters claims that there’s nothing the Welsh Assembly can do about it, as this situation stems directly from the home office/central government and therefore not linked to the devolved Welsh Government……so the NHS in Wales is devolved, so in that case then surely he can put a stop to these illegal immigrants using our Welsh NHS!! But no, he’ll just back peddle and continue to blame the Conservatives in his game of political one-upmanship as the spineless waste of space always does! He’s not in politics to serve the community, only for his own financial gain! It won’t have an impact on him in his home in Penarth…..that we pay for!
Marc Lewis This message is addressed to the people of Llanelli if you have been lied too this is very wrong ,as a retired Councillor after 45 years of service ,did you know by law now you can ask questions under the 12 minute rule bill of any item on the agenda in a monthly meeting,then the Chairperson will reply to you if she has the information or she will give the information by letter .You can go to the monthly meeting or you can write to the clerk for the code to watch the meeting on Zoom and its free , its your right to bring these councillors to account , and the question did all the Council’s in Carmarthenshire know about it 4 weeks ago ,if so it’s shocking . I always watch my local council from the comfort of my lounge its your right use it , wish you all good luck.
Marc Lewis the choice is made by serco and the hotel owner
pretty much all the staff will be made redundant
while the hotel owner will pocket a full hotel occupancy
without allot of the costs
just remember this when tge gotel reopens
Marc Lewis you forgot his holiday home there’s no balls in wales any way they just look into it
Jeremy Jones if the hotel ever reopens it will have to be under new ownership as no one will go there whilst owned by Sterling Woodrow! Pity the hotel can’t be bought out by a private individual who would retain the hotel as it should be, a tourist attraction full of character, and wedding venue for use by local residents as well. Sterling Woodrow have been so underhand in the way they have handled this and not had the decency to even inform their staff in advance of this being brought to the attention by the council and press. Please remember the staff are the ones taking the brunt of all this whilst Sterling Woodrow owners hide in their ivory towers – Shame on them!!
Marc Lewis Lee waters is an idiot though, 100% buffoon.
What right does the Home Office have to dictate to us about dumping asylum seekers and how it should work if this does take place they need to have Home Office people on site to process these people to get them moved on as quickly as possible this lot have been in for 13 years to mee the problem is at Westminster.
Ashley Kemp the Welsh government been 20 years have we got a road to bring them here no
why put them here put them by where they came off or london and the owner of stradey park hotel clearly not going to say no because of the money he been given this country isnt ours anymore and we are the outsiders and the governmemt can just do what they want to us because our rights dont matter at all 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
I believe all this illegal immigration has been devised by the WEF. The Welsh Assembly government and the English government are puppets of the wef and are doing their bidding. As is king Charles.
I think a better solution needs to be looked at Carmarthenshire council are struggling already to house people and the social system is under huge amounts of stress. These people need help but I don’t think that thought has gone into what help they will actually need and the services that are already here will buckle. I think we should help people but there should be plans in place to add more services first. It’s really sad that the owner of the hotel has said yes when the people of Llanelli has supported the hotel clearly wasn’t making enough money 🙁
Joanne Morris except the hotel has recently had its best business in years according to the information brought up in the Selwyn Samuel Centre a week ago!! I wonder how the owners would feel if this was in their back garden as it is with local residents.
Donna Jones maybe the money they have been offered is too tempting to turn down
Send them all back home.
Too late it’s all going ahead they’ve started putting people in there already.
But Wales is a country of sanctuary and refugees are welcome, according to Mr Drakeford.
Where are the Muppets in the Senedd now Dickford very quiet
Hewan Ormson but the Tories have taken back control since we have left the EU
Rees Julie Labour voted against Rawanda deal.
Mark Davies because they said it wouldn’t work. So far 140 million has been spent on the deal, and not one single person has gone there.
Rees Julie then Drakeford should put them up at his place then.
Rees Julie So better not 2 try something new. Drakford & Stammer are clueless
Mark Davies Labour would vote against anything the tories say regardless of whether its a good or bad idea though
Mark Thomas 100%
Sarah Davis 😳xx
Funny how everyone shouts down anyone critical of the small boat invasion, until…. The people from the boats end up in their town
Rob Earle I’ve never shouted it down, don’t agree with it.
Mark Thomas I didn’t say you had, more if a referral to our politicians who oppose any controls on immigration and the oppose the immigrants being out somewhere, you couldn’t make this up!!
Rob Earle yep agree, I was just saying that in not one of the hoards who think we should just accept everyone. There is a massive difference between being caring and being stupid.
Have a look at the mess at copthorne!! Say no more.
It’s the lies I didn’t like .
Just been past Falmouth docks and in the dry dock is this. I’m told its offshore housing for asylum seekers. Build these and Moor off the coast.
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