Ellie Ames 10 October 2023

Home Office ditches Stradey Park asylum plans

Home Office ditches Stradey Park asylum plans image
Image: carmarthenshire.gov.wales

The Home Office has withdrawn its controversial plans to house asylum seekers at the Stradey Park Hotel in Furnace, Llanelli.

Carmarthenshire County Council has long called for an end to the plans and applied unsuccessfully for an injunction in July.

Protests in the Welsh town have also been ongoing over recent months, with 43 arrests made in connection, local police have said.

Last week, the council’s leader and chief executive wrote to ministers and senior civil servants with concerns about ‘escalating community tensions’ and urged the Government to withdraw from the site.

Leader Darren Price said today: ‘I very much welcome the decision of the Home Office to withdraw its plans for the Stradey Park Hotel; it’s the right decision for the hotel and more importantly, it’s the right decision for the people of Furnace.

‘Now is the time for the community of Llanelli to come together, to heal from the experience of the past few months.’

Member of the Senedd for Llanelli, Lee Waters, said: ‘I'm glad the Home Office have finally seen sense and have realised their plans for Stradey were unworkable and wrong-headed.

‘But what a mess they have created, and now leave behind.

‘A cherished hotel has been wrecked by Tory incompetence and it is not clear what the owners now intend to do. They need to put right the damage they have caused.’

A Home Office spokesperson said the Government is ‘working hard to reduce the unacceptable use of hotels by moving asylum seekers into alternative, cheaper accommodation, doubling them up in hotel rooms, and clearing the legacy backlog’.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Development Management Service Manager - WMF2347e

Westmorland and Furness Council
£65,873 - £68,775
The Development Management service plays a vital role in shaping the built environment. Cumbria / Countywide
Recuriter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Director of Children's services

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council
£123,550 pa
We are looking for a visionary and values-driven Director of Children's services North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear
Recuriter: North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council

Assistant Director for Corporate Parenting

Suffolk County Council
£88,225 - £105,726 per annum
This is a time of exciting and positive change in Suffolk. Suffolk
Recuriter: Suffolk County Council

LGV Driver

North Yorkshire Council
£34,094 - £37,225 per annum pro rata
Would you like a rewarding role that allows you to work outside in some of the most scenic places in the country? Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Recuriter: North Yorkshire Council

Mobile Cleansing Operative

North Yorkshire Council
£24,796 - £25,989 per annum
Are you passionate about keeping communities clean and welcoming? Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Recuriter: North Yorkshire Council
Linkedin Banner