PLANS to house up to 241 asylum seekers at a Carmarthenshire hotel have been withdrawn.

The Home Office had intended to house asylum seeker families at the Stradey Park Hotel while they waited for their asylum applications to be processed.

However, the move – which also resulted in 50 full-time and 45 part-time jobs being lost and events, including weddings, being cancelled – has been met with protests since July.

Several arrests have been made at the site following a number of incidents - which led to Dyfed-Powys Police appealing for “calm and co-operation” following “a concerning escalation of behaviour” by protestors.

Last week, the hotel was issued with a prohibition notice by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, stopping people from sleeping on the premises.

The inspection found that there was insufficient fire separation between certain areas of the ground floor and insufficient means of detecting and giving warning of a fire.

Carmarthenshire County Council has now announced that it has received written confirmation from the Home Office of its decision to withdraw the plans.

This came after council leader Darren Price and chief executive Wendy Walters had both written to Home Office ministers and senior civil servants last week outlining their concerns over escalating community tensions and urging the UK Government to withdraw from the site.

Cllr Price said: “I very much welcome the decision of the Home Office to withdraw its plans for the Stradey Park Hotel; it’s the right decision for the hotel and more importantly, it’s the right decision for the people of Furnace.

“Now is the time for the community of Llanelli to come together, to heal from the experience of the past few months.

“On the issue of providing sanctuary to people in desperate need, I will reiterate Carmarthenshire County Council’s desire to continue to welcome our share of asylum seekers from countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria to our county via the dispersal model which has worked successfully in Carmarthenshire for many years.”

The council has said it will continue to work with Dyfed Powys Police and the hotel owners to ensure that the site of the Stradey Park Hotel is managed appropriately, for the good of the community of Furnace and Llanelli.