Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) is taking legal action over plans to use a hotel in Llanelli to house asylum seekers.

The council said it had ‘commenced legal proceedings against Gryphon Leisure Limited, Sterling Woodrow Limited, Clearsprings Ready Homes Limited, Robert Horwood and Gareth Street regarding the material change of use without planning permission of the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli’.

The High Court hearing began on Friday morning (7 June) at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The Home Office confirmed in June that the hotel would be used to accommodate asylum seekers. It said that a maximum of 207 people, made up of family groups, would be accommodated across 77 rooms.

Last week, the council said it would support hotel staff after they discovered they were at risk of redundancy from 10 July.

Clearsprings Ready Homes said it would not comment on the issue. The Home Office said it did not comment on commercial arrangements for individual sites used for asylum accommodation.

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.

‘We have been clear that the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £6 million a day.

‘The Home Office is committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer.’

Sterling Woodrow Limited has been contacted for comment.

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