Couple Fear Wedding Cancellation If Hotel Is Used To House 300 Asylum Seekers

A couple has told the BBC that they are losing sleep over concerns that their wedding will be cancelled if the hotel they booked is used to house 300 asylum seekers.

According to The BBC:

Miriam Williams, 37, and fiancé Liam Martin, 40, from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, have paid £2,000 towards their October wedding.

They are due to pay a further £1,500 soon to the town’s Stradey Park Hotel.

But Carmarthenshire council said last week the Home Office wants to house asylum seekers at the venue.

Miriam said she had been “left in the dark” as to whether the wedding would go ahead and says she could lose thousands of pounds.

In a letter seen by BBC Wales that was sent to Miriam, the hotel said “it’s business as usual” and claims about it housing asylum seekers are “unfounded”.

The council said it was informed of a proposal by the Home Office to consider the hotel for the purpose of “providing contingency accommodation for a large number, believed to be in excess of 300, asylum seekers”.

The Home Office said it is “committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer”.

The plans for asylum seekers at the hotel were discussed at a public meeting in Llanelli’s Selwyn Samuel Centre on Sunday where 400 people turned up.

Councillor for the Hengoed ward of Llanelli, Martyn Palfreman told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast: “This whole situation is shrouded in uncertainty.

“People locally, ourselves as the county council, and our service providers are kept pretty much in the dark in terms of whether this proposal is going to go ahead.

“My understanding is there have been discussions between the Home Office and the county council suggesting that this proposal is a significant one.

“But as we stand here today I don’t think anybody knows if this proposal is going to go ahead.”

Mr Palfreman said the consensus among locals was that the proposal is “completely inappropriate”.

“As you’d expect there was a high strength of feeling, and we as local representatives were very clear that we stand with the local community and say that these proposals are inappropriate.

“We will do everything we can to try and reverse the direction that appears to have been taken by the Home Office,” he said.

The councillor said he was concerned about the impact on public services and on the hotel itself.

“It’s unacceptable that the people of Llanelli are facing a situation where they don’t know whether their wedding can go ahead,” he said.

“People that are fleeing persecution and war deserve to be welcomed to Wales and given the opportunity to have their asylum claims processed.

“I think the issue is that putting 300 people in a small community with the impact on public services is not the way to do that.

“The numbers that are being talked about in the proposal from the Home Office mean that the conditions in the hotel would be far from ideal.”

Miriam is concerned her dream wedding at the hotel will not go ahead.

“I’m at risk of losing thousands of pounds,” Miriam said.

“We’ve already paid £2,000, and we’re due to pay another £1,500 very soon.

“We’re at risk of losing that money if we cancel, but then if the hotel cancels we’ll have to scramble to look for another venue which is unlikely to happen last minute.

 

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
PodCast
Listen LIVE!

The Richie Allen Radio Show is live Mon – Thurs  5-7pm and Sun 11am -12pm

Click the button to listen live. Stream opens in a new tab.

Support

Support the show!

The Richie Allen Show relies on the support of the listeners.  Click the button to learn more.
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x

The Richie Allen Show relies on the support of the listeners. Help Richie to keep producing the show and talking about that which the mainstream media won’t. Please consider a contribution or becoming a Patron, it’s greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Halifax Manchester SORT CODE 11-05-16 ACC No 12130860

New Report

Close