“Will the Leader provide an update in terms of the Stradey Park hotel in the Ffwrnes Llanelli and outline any discussions that he has had with both the UK Government and Welsh Government on the matter?”
Minutes:
Question by Councillor Davies:
“Will the Leader provide an update in terms of the Stradey Park hotel in the Ffwrnes Llanelli and outline any discussions that he has had with both the UK Government and Welsh Government on the matter”?
Response by Councillor Price:
Thank you Terry for the question
Since the announcement at the beginning of October that the UK Conservative Government had withdrawn their intention to utilise the Stradey Park hotel, the owners of course have stated that they want to reopen the hotel.
Now, I am sure that all members would want to see the site being brought back to use, and I am certainly of the view that this needs to happen sooner, rather than later.
Now, whether the site will be operated by the current owner, or another is not something for us as a council to determine – it is after all a private enterprise, but clearly the longer that the site is left empty, the more the fabric of the buildings will deteriorate, and the greater will be the cost to bring it back up to standard.
Having spoken to a number of people in Llanelli and members over the last few weeks it is clear that local people want to see the site either revert to its former use as a hotel, or developed into another asset which can bring benefit to the town, and for that to happen as quickly as possible. What nobody wants is to see the site remaining derelict for a prolonged period.
Now, with the threat of Home Office use now firmly off the table, we now need clarity from the owners in terms of how they intend to bring the site back to use, and a detailed timetable for any works. It is important for the local community to fully understand the scope of works needed in order to bring the site back to use.
Members will remember that I had written to the Conservative Government urging them to withdraw from the site, and as a result of that letter, I received a further communication from the UK Government only last week. Within that letter, dated on November 1st, the UK Government state that they are now “committed to work with partners on a lessons learned exercise facilitated by the Wales Strategic Migration Partnership.” Now, clearly, this is important, as they had failed in my view to learn the lessons from the Penally camp experience.
Within this council of course, we have started to think quite some time ago about the way in which improvements can be made and, indeed, ever since the Stradey Park story broke back in May, I have been making the argument that there is an alternative way of managing the asylum process here in Wales.
As members are aware, I have consistently stated that local government and the Welsh Government should have a central role in developing an All-Wales approach to emergency asylum accommodation, as opposed to leaving it to a UK Government which very often has no idea of the local context – as we have seen in the case of the Stradey Park hotel.
I raised this over the Summer with both the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt and at WLGA meetings with other Leaders, and it was therefore pleasing that on September 15th, at a WLGA Executive Board meeting, it was agreed by all leaders of local authorities in Wales to formally accept a proposal to develop a new, collaborative, way forward for planning asylum accommodation in Wales. It was pleasing that many of the concerns that we had raised, and the experiences that we had shared, were reflected and addressed in that proposal, which sought to develop a new relationship between the UK Government, Welsh Government and Welsh local government – where there is parity of esteem, as opposed to the UK Government simply telling us locally what is going to happen, with little or no opportunity for local input.
I understand that the Welsh Government has now made that offer to the Conservative Government in London, and I would hope that the Conservative Government would look and take up that offer.
From our perspective, here in Carmarthenshire of course, what is frustrating for us, as members, is that these discussions between WG and UK Government hadn’t taken place at an earlier stage, because had this more co-operative model been proposed, and was in place, prior to this May, then I am absolutely convinced that we would not have had to endure what we’ve had to endure in Llanelli.
Members will be aware that the Police and Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llewelyn, has estimated that the cost to the police force of the Stradey Park fiasco has been in excess of £300k for Dyfed Powys Police. He is seeking reimbursement, and has written to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman to make that point.
I can confirm this morning Chair, that I too will be making a claim for reimbursement from the Conservative Government for costs incurred by this authority due to the fiasco over the past six months.
Officers of this authority have spent over 2,700 hours, yes 2,700 hours, dealing with this issue. In addition, we have also lost income due to the cancelled marriage ceremonies and resulting loss of income of course to registrars, for example. This comes at a time of significant budget strain, as we have heard earlier this morning, and officers have been pulled away from their primary duties in order to deal with this mess.
In total, nearly £230k of costs have been incurred as a direct result of the Conservative Government’s flawed proposal, and I believe that there is a duty on the Conservative Government to reimburse this authority for those costs.
Chair, the grit and determination shown by so many over recent months is to be commended, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank members, officers, partners and local residents for their co-operation and efforts over recent months. What is clear is that we need to harness that energy, to turn that frustration into positive action, and ensure that everyone is on the same page, as we all take steps to make Llanelli the prosperous, sustainable, welcoming and successful town that we know it can be.
As always Chair, I will endeavour to keep members updated on developments at the Stradey Park, and with regards to further discussions with both the UK and Welsh Governments on this agenda.
Thank you
Supplementary question by Councillor Davies: There was no supplementary question.