Roadblock outside luxury hotel where 240 asylum seekers are moving in
EXCLUSIVE: Protesters set up a roadblock outside Welsh luxury hotel where 240 asylum seekers are moving in
Furious protesters have set up a roadblock to stop access to a luxury hotel where 240 asylum seekers are moving in – and police can’t stop the disruption because it’s taking place on a private road.
Residents living close to the four-star Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, South Wales have set up bollards and metal railings preventing vehicles from entering the only road that leads to its front entrance, insisting that they do not want it turning into a refugee centre.
A homeowner who owns the land across the road runs withdrew a previous access agreement with the hotel in fury after it sacked 95 staff so that it could house the migrants under a deal struck with the Home Office to tackle the crisis in the Channel.
The roadblock has resulted in vehicles carrying workers and coaches with migrants unable to get to the hotel. The migrants were supposed to have moved into the hotel by July 3.
The protestors are being supported by Richard Tice, leader of Reform UK, who visited them in South Wales to hear their concerns and address them. He told MailOnline: ‘This is a much loved, community hotel which also provided employment for almost 100 people. The landowner has withdrawn consent for use of the private road, and this means that the Government’s plans to use this hotel is scuppered.
‘The community is feeling unsafe. They have seen what’s happened elsewhere and they have taken this action. They will not let anyone pass.’
The barricade set up by locals in south Wales preventing vehicles from entering the only road that leads to a four star hotel set to welcome 240 asylum seekers
Protesters outside the four-star Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, South Wales
The roadblock at Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli,
Protesters have started blockading the Stradey park Hotel in Llanelli after it fired 95 staff in plans to house up to 241 asylum seekers
Mr Tice added: ‘I think we are going to see more action like this across the country because people’s tolerance is being stretched and stressed even further. The abuse of our hospitality is becoming clearer, the mood in the nation is becoming more frustrated and angrier.
‘We want to be hospitable to genuine refugees but the majority coming across the Channel are economic migrants and have come from places where there is no war. The Government and the judges are completely out of touch with the ordinary people of this country.’
More than 80 residents have been taking it turns to patrol the barricades across the private road with tents also set up so that they can stay the night to ensure no vehicles pass.
Many of the hardcore of protesters are local women in their fifties and sixties who fear their tight-knit community is at risk from economic migrants, most of whom they claim will be young males.
They are being brought food and drink by supporters as the stalemate shows no sign of being resolved.
Soon after the blockade of the private road started last week, the Home Office faced another setback as it attempted to get around it.
Labourers began constructing a makeshift route through a hedge, but Camarthenshire Council issued a temporary stop notice to investigate an alleged breach of planning rules. It will last for 28 days.
In the past the 77-bedroom Stradey Park Hotel, which also has a luxury spa has hosted top celebrities and the world’s great rugby teams including the New Zealand All Blacks have stayed there.
It has ‘stunning views’ of Carmarthen Bay and the Gower peninsula. Until it was earmarked for asylum seekers, a night at the hotel could cost upwards of £200.
Protestors fear their tight-knit community will become like Penally, a former Army camp 40 miles away, where hundreds of asylum seekers were housed for years.
They claim the village and the nearby seaside town of Tenby became a hotbed of sex crimes, arson and knifings, none of which ended up in court.
Last weekend, clashes broke out between protestors and police in Llanelli and some angry demonstrators smeared security vans with animal excrement.
After security was removed from the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Wales protesters continue to stand their ground outside as they await further information from the Home Office and the arrival of asylum seekers
Protesters cheering as security leave the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, South Wales, following a stand-off last week
The protesters have vowed to continue the demonstration for as long as it takes
Supporters of the protesters hand out food and drinks to keep them going on Monday night
Horse manure was used to daub door handles of vans from a security company brought in by the Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd, one of Britain’s largest providers of housing to the Home Office.
One protester said: ‘The hotel is part of the history and fabric of the town – people are angry that this has been foisted upon us.
‘I’m not a racist, I feel some sympathy with asylum seekers but the best hotel for miles around is not the place for them.
‘It’s a bit of siege situation right now – we are organised and will see it out.’
Carmarthenshire County Council has already lost a bid for a High Court injunction to temporarily block plans to use Stradey Park to accommodate asylum seekers.
The council claimed it would mean a ‘material change of use from hotel to hostel’ and went against planning regulations.
It said handing it over to asylum seekers would result in job losses, impact on tourism and cut the number of hotel beds in the area by 25 per cent.
Lawyers acting for hotel owner Gryphon Leisure Limited said it was helping with a ‘clear, pressing and urgent need’ for asylum seeker initial accommodation and there was no breach of planning rules.
The court was told that Gryphon director Robert Horwood had warned that, without the ‘injection of funds’ from a contract with Clearsprings there was ‘a serious risk that the use as a hotel would be lost in any event’.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
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