Stradey Park: Hotel owners plead for protests to stop

Stradey Park Hotel's owners have begged the community to allow them to rebuild

Owners of a hotel where controversial plans to house asylum seekers were scrapped have pleaded with people to stop protesting outside.

The proposal to house up to 241 people at Stradey Park Hotel in Furnace, Carmarthenshire, was first announced in the Spring but dropped 10 days ago.

In a statement, the hotel said it was striving to "understand the root of the continued protests".

It added such a proposal would "never be revisited".

Robert Lloyd, of the Furnace Action Group, which organised marches against the plans, said none of the group's members were involved.

• Home Office 'should help repair damage' in Llanelli

• Asylum seeker hotel plan scrapped by Home Office

Protests first took place outside the site near Llanelli from early July after the Home Office announced plans to house asylum seekers there.

But despite the subsequent decision to scrap the idea, the hotel said people were still protesting more than a week on.

In the statement, posted on Facebook and addressed to the "residents of Llanelli", the hotel questioned the ongoing protests, given the Home Office had "decisively disengaged from any involvement with the hotel".

Crowds gathered outside the hotel on the day the plans were scrapped

"We guarantee that such a proposal will never be revisited," it added.

"And, as we earnestly endeavour to rebuild and breathe life back into Stradey Park Hotel, the blockade continues."

It added it was "essential" to clarify the hotel was not for sale.

The statement also said the hotel had employed its own security personnel while "the threat of violence and vandalism" prevailed.

"We genuinely believe that progress and healing can only occur once the protesters have moved on," added the letter.

Robert Lloyd of Furnace Action Committee said none of the group's members were still protesting

"Our hope was to open our doors again before the end of the year, but the necessary renovations and preparations are impeded with obstacles and protesters at our doorstep.

"If the boulders, marquees and protesters remain, we can only deduce that the community does not wish for the hotel to reopen its doors."

It added it was "just a business endeavouring to survive".

Mr Lloyd said although none of the Furnace Action Committee's members were involved, "certain individuals" and "other groups which had sprung up organically" during the saga seemed intent on staying put.

"This message has been the first bit of communication any of us has had from the hotel, and what they need to do now is to sit down with members of the community and explain what their plans are," he said.

"Once we know that and what's happening about those people who faced losing their jobs, those still protesting will no doubt start to move on."