250 refugees, all of them male, will be housed in COVID-secure accommodation at Penally Army Camp, it has been confirmed.
Both Pembrokeshire County Council’s councillors and officers were given no prior warning of the Home Office decision before rumours circulated in the locality last week.
Instead, both councillors and officers were told in a meeting this evening (Monday, Sept 14) the Home Office had selected Penally Camp as the only location in Wales in which refugees were to be housed.
The Home Office rejected a proposal to use Brawdy instead, regarding Penally as ‘remote’.
The Herald has been told that the refugees will arrive within weeks, and that Penally Army Camp can be adapted very quickly to it’s new use.
Former Labour candidate for South Pembrokeshire, Marc Tierney said: “Refugees are welcome. The way this situation is being handled and the way local residents are being communicated with is not. There is no need for a protest which could be potentially hijacked as part of a wider campaign. There is need for genuine engagement by the UK Government and its political representatives locally. Pembrokeshire welcomes people from wherever they come from. As a county, we have already helped a small handful of people who have fled conflict and war.
“We can do more, but the Government must step forward and provide the adequate support needed to make it work.”
Plaid Cymru Shadow Minister for Equalities Leanne Wood MS said: “A military training camp would be a perverse setting for housing people who may have witnessed first-hand the horrors of conflict and fled out of desperation and fear for their lives.
“The accommodation appears to be wholly inadequate and would inevitably add to the distress of the individuals who may be forced to stay there.
“There appears to have been little or no consultation with the Local Authority about these proposals, meaning that adequate support for these individuals may not be guaranteed if this turns out to be the preferred location.
“Wales has a proud history of welcoming those seeking asylum from some of the most volatile and dangerous regions on earth.
“In meeting its moral duty to protect these individuals, the UK Government should identify sites which are both safe and suitable to house them. At present, they seem to be failing on both fronts.”
