Stradey Park Hotel: Ninety-five staff to be made redundant

By Lucy Vladev

BBC Wales News

A total of 95 staff at a hotel which will house asylum seekers have been told they will lose their jobs.

The Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, is set to house up to 241 asylum seekers.

The Home Office said the plans were necessary and it was listening to the views of the local community.

The Refugee Council has raised concerns about integrating asylum seekers in the community and whether they will get the support they need.

The 50 full-time and 45 part-time staff will stop working at the hotel on 10 July, the same day asylum seekers are due to move in.

Staff were informed during a meeting on Tuesday morning, after an email was sent via management at the hotel who then informed their colleagues.

The meeting, which lasted about half an hour, did not include any representatives on behalf of the hotel’s owners, Sterling Woodrow.

The BBC was told some staff members who were not able to make the meeting joined the meeting via their phones, while others were called afterwards by colleagues.

Staff were said to be “shocked” but some also described relief “after weeks of waiting” to have questions answered about their futures.

All booked events at the hotel, including weddings after 10 July, have been cancelled.

On Sunday, about 100 protesters marched in opposition to the plans, which Carmarthenshire council previously said it was “firmly against”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “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 £6m a day.

“We engage with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people.

“We are working closely to listen to the local communities’ views and reduce the impact of sites, including through providing onsite security and financial support.”

Carmarthenshire council, the hotel’s owners Sterling Woodrow and the Home Office’s housing contractor, Clearsprings, have been approached for comment.

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