Dyfed-Powys Police spent more than £1 million dealing with protests outside a hotel earmarked to house asylum seekers, it has emerged. The demonstrations at the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, began in early July last year, with fires breaking out near the site and around 40 arrests made between mid-August and early October. The Home Office later scrapped the controversial plans in October.
The final cost, disclosed following a Freedom of Information request by BBC Wales, stood at over £1,165,000 - more than three times the £300,000 reimbursement previously sought by the police and crime commissioner. Dafydd Llywelyn said he was not shocked by the figure, citing “several operational and organisational pressures” including Operation Cambrian, which covered the police response to the protests.
The hotel was due to house up to 241 people as part of UK government efforts to reduce asylum costs. Local residents, councillors and politicians raised concerns over suitability and a lack of information. Labour councillor Martyn Palfreman described the episode as “a litany, really of tension, of understandable anxiety… a really intense time”.
Llanelli MP Dame Nia Griffith called the plans “a disaster from start to finish” and said the spending was “a scandal”. She added: “That money could and should have been spent on frontline policing in the area, making our streets and communities safer, not on propping up a failing, misguided idea dreamt up by out of touch, arrogant ministers.” Aled Edwards, former racial equality commissioner, said lessons needed to be learned, pointing to the successful Afghan and Ukrainian schemes in Wales.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government was “making significant progress with moving asylum seekers out of hotels” and confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £18.4 billion for 2024-25, including up to £148 million for Dyfed-Powys Police. They added that decisions about how funding is used are a matter for individual police and crime commissioners.
