Stradey Park: Lisa Baker Meets Village Residents Protesting Against the Decision to Turn Local Hotel into Migrant Centre

“We aren’t ‘hard right’ racists – but our village can’t lose 95  jobs and a valuable community venue – and being locked up  3-to-a-hotel-room is not a suitable way for migrants to live either.”

Ever since it was announced that a 4 Star Hotel in the small village of Furnace in Llanelli would be closed to house asylum seekers (and as yet the demographic make up has not been announced), residents have fiercely objected and have been maintaining a well-supported vigil outside the venue – however, they have also received criticism, from being called ‘far right racists’ and ‘nimbys’ to being hostile towards migrants with nowhere to live.

We thought we’d visit the protestors to hear their views for ourselves – and were met by a friendly bunch of everyday people who spoke fondly of their memories of family weddings, christenings and funerals at the Stradey Park, and who were saddened, not only by the future plans, but also at the loss of a popular community venue and the 95 jobs that came with it.

At present, plans remain for up to 241 people to be housed in Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, despite strong opposition – Carmarthenshire Council even made an application for an injunction to stop the hotel being used for this purpose, arguing that converting the 77 bedroom hotel to a hostel for asylum seekers would be a breach of planning conditions – however the High Court declined to grant the injunction and the plans are going ahead.

One of the protestors, who are receiving plenty of support from passing motorists, explained:

“We aren’t racists, but people don’t understand this part of Wales.  It’s a small, close-knit village where people all know each other with many Welsh speaking schools.  We are seeing our memories of the hotel ruined, we’ve had special future bookings cancelled, and if you go inside the gates, you can see all the fine chandeliers and furnishings we loved now just dumped in huge piles of rubbish alongside empty hazardous waste containers which smell.  It’s just awful now.

“Now they are dumping a large number of people too – in what will feel like a prison – it is not treating them humanely or helping them to relocate – it’s just dumping a Home Office problem here in Wales and it’s unfair on the migrants and unfair on local residents – there’s no jobs here, it’s a very small community and therefore not a suitable place for that many people to start a new life.  A better solution needs to be found and our community is going to be here challenging this until the Home Office finds one.”

I didn’t meet any hardcore ‘activists’ today – instead they were an unlikely bunch of protestors who have probably never rebelled against anything in their life.  Everyday villagers who had passion and a genuine concern about their community, people of all ages, engaging positively with the community police officers at the site.  While they are staunch in their opposition to the plans, I saw people bringing food, I saw people voicing their support and most of all I saw people who wanted to keep what has been their village way of life for generations to continue.

I also saw for myself the toxic rubbish they referred to – and I couldn’t escape the smell either.  More upsetting, this smelly waste, just dumped on the floor rather than in an appropriate container, was only a short distance from a nearby residential property and to the other side of the property, the pile of overflowing bins, discarded glasses and bottles and more general waste dumped on the floor surrounding the bins looked like an open invitation to rats.  It certainly didn’t feel like a place ready to take in residents.

I rarely voice my opinion on news stories, but I am forced to ask, is this really the way we should be housing human beings?

The much loved Four Star Hotel, so prized by locals, has fallen far from it’s former glory.  And I’d say our sense of humanity has fallen and needs a second look.  Because this so-called ‘housing solution’ from the Home Office is set to fail everyone – and as well as failing local residents, failure is the last thing we need to dump on migrants who have already left behind their entire way of life and many of them have already risked their lives to come here.

Once migrants have been properly assessed (something the UK Government has failed to do quickly), I am sure we would all agree they deserve the best chance of a fresh start – not to be treated as a problem that needs to be dumped en masse out of sight in rural Wales.

Cllr. Darren Price Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council said in a statement after the failed injunction:

“…we still strongly maintain that the Stradey Park Hotel is inappropriate to house such a large concentration of asylum seekers in one location, and we will continue to pursue other legal options that are available to us, including planning enforcement legislation. 

“We believe that the UK Government’s approach is wrong and will continue to lobby for a change of approach to ensure the needs of the local community are taken into account. In terms of loss of jobs, the loss of a key tourism asset, cancellation of weddings and significant local tensions we again implore the UK Government to put a stop to this plan.”

“I have stated on numerous occasions that the Council has fully supported and successfully delivered the dispersed model currently used to re-settle Syrian, Afghan, Ukrainian and general asylum seekers in recent years. The dispersed model of accommodation provision is more sustainable in offering a longer-term solution for asylum seekers, especially in a county such as Carmarthenshire.”

I could not agree more.  And I honestly could not have met a nicer bunch of people today than the residents of Furnace (and Trigger the dog).