No Asylum Accommodation at Pontins
Following the report in HIP 219 of hotels in Hastings being used as asylum hostels, it has emerged that the Home Office approached Rother District Council and East Sussex County Council (ESCC) in December to enquire whether Pontins Holiday Park might be made available for mass accommodation for asylum applicants.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick had made it clear that he is looking for larger sites that might cost less to administer. However, both Rother and ESCC raised concerns about the remoteness of the location and the pressure on local services, and it was confirmed last week that the government would not pursue the plan.
Rother’s leader, Doug Oliver, was quoted by the BBC as welcoming a “sensible” decision. “Camber is not a large community… this would not have been the right arrangement either for migrants or for residents,” he added.
In the meantime an open letter put together on behalf of the Refugee Buddy Project (RBP), Hastings Community of Sanctuary and Hastings Supports Refugees has been sent to Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, asking her to “reassure local people by sharing with us what is being done to ensure” that popular protests against the use of local hotels for refugee accommodation are “managed effectively”. The letter, which was countersigned by several local Green party councillors including leader Cllr Julia Hilton, by local trade unionists and by other activists, referred to recent “horrific scenes in Merseyside” when a hotel housing refugees in Knowsley came under sustained hostilities.
Alex Kempton, RBP’s Director of Operations and Campaigns, referred to “a community-based response group who are organising to be ready to respond and defend our neighbours should the need arise. We sincerely hope this won’t be necessary but we will not stand by and let our neighbours be harassed.”
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply