Police appeal for calm after escalation of protests at Stradey Park Hotel
Dyfed-Powys Police have appealed for calm following an escalation of activity by protestors at the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli.
On Monday (14 August) police received a report that criminal damage had been caused to a vehicle used by a contractor employed by the hotel while he was driving away from the premises.
A man has since been arrested and charged with this offence.
During the night of 15 August a number of people trespassed onto the grounds of the hotel and conducted themselves in what was described as “an intimidating manner”.
Five arrests have been made this afternoon in connection with further incidents at the hotel and police enquiries are ongoing.
Officers remain at the scene to provide reassurance to residents and the local community.
Police are also concerned by the conduct of a number of people who have been wearing balaclavas in the area. As a result, a Section 60AA order (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) has been put in place.
This provides officers with the power to require a person to remove any item which the officer believes is being worn wholly or mainly for the purposes of concealing their identity.
The order applies to the area of Stradey Park Hotel, Pentrepoeth Road and the B4309 running through Furnace.
Disorder
Police say they will always seek to allow peaceful protest, while balancing it with the rights of others, keeping the public safe and preventing crime and disorder.
Where an offence is committed, they say will take all reasonable and proportionate steps to bring offenders to justice.
The police also said that they will continue to monitor the situation and take action as necessary to protect the public and prevent crime and disorder.
Last month the owners of the four-star hotel earmarked for housing asylum-seekers secured a temporary High Court injunction limiting the activities of protesters objecting to the plans.
Gryphon Leisure – which owns the Stradey Park Hotel & Spa in Furnace – asked a judge in London to impose an “urgent interim injunction” in a bid to prevent trespass and obstruction at the property.
Judge Roger ter Haar KC concluded at a hearing on 27 July that there was a “very strong chance” the hotel would not be able to “exercise its own property rights” and granted the injunction until late January next year.
Several groups have voiced their opposition to plans for the venue to host up to 241 asylum seekers which were announced in June.
The judge said in his ruling there is “clearly … an unacceptable level of protest which needs to be stopped” and noted that the injunction would not stop protesters altogether but would “at least stop the more unacceptable elements of the protests that are going on”.
He also said there were some protesters travelling from far away to demonstrate outside the hotel.
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Ah, the Butchers Apron. Regularly flown by people from Llanelli. (Not).
I’m very surprised that Andrew RT Davies and the Welsh Conservative Party aren’t all over this criminality and disruptive demonstration in Wales by the far-right They are obsessed with and are forever banging on about Just Stop Oil when they protest anywhere in the UK? Why could that be?
If those people were protesting against the destruction of the planet or holding a vigil for a woman a police officer had murdered those “people” would be being stomped into the ground and being given sentences in line with the new “Policing Bill”…but because they are a bunch of racist scum (just like the Polis), they are being allowed to harass and intimidate people in the hotel and cause a disturbance in the local community….and the longer the Senedd allows the Far-Right to run amok in Cymru, the more the Senedd looks like it supports the Far-Right in Cymru….. ….and… Read more »
There’s no way half those people are Welsh. Union rag woman is an import.
Llanelli has had a good tradition of standing up to facism,2 men from the town lost their lives with the International brigade in the Spanish civil war.
There was a big demonstration against a touring South African team during the Apartheid era.
With some of the far right activity outside Stradey Park these are scenes reminiscent to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1958.
Yes it’s disgusting that people lost their jobs at Stradey Park Hotel but what about workers at the Wilko store in Llanelli, does anyone care about them.
Why has the Bbc and most of Welsh media paid any or little attention to this appaling situation. The report by a so called journalist for BbC Wales/ Cymru was not even skin deep the other week. There has been an in flux of right wing agitators from England and other parts of Wales who are already known on the ‘ housing migrants’ protest circuit stoking up locals and capitalising on this mess. People are being intimidated by them and being hoodwinked.. the residents were within their rights to protest at this awful situation but outside forces and mobrule are… Read more »
Imagine having a union rag (a political flag) besides a Cymru flag (a Cultural flag) when they stand for complete opposite values. Absolutely ridiculous and only occurs because of how ignorant people are about our nations history.
I suspect much of this protest is fuelled by fear, fear of having an influx of men and having to wait longer to see a GP, dentist, hospital appt. Etc. Fear of having to wait longer for social housing and so on. Increasing the population anywhere while cutting services and destroying infrastructure is a recipe for unrest and fear.
Where did they bus them in from? I feel its criminal how the UK government has been to open on the locations used. This information is only going to be a honey pot for bigots. Bet they hate all other protests also, you know like the ones who higher wages or saving the planet.Instead they pick on desperate refugees.
What is union flag doing there 🏴🏴🏴.