Protest staged at famous hotel over housing of refugees
ASMALL group of protesters gathered outside the Scarisbrick Hotel in Southport on Saturday to rally against it being used to house asylum seekers.
After being publicised on social media, only a handful of people attended the protest on Lord Street.
Meanwhile, a counter-protest took place at the same time but the events passed by without significant incident.
Officers from Merseyside Police attended the scene and a spokesman confirmed that no arrests were made.
The hotel is currently being used to house people forced to leave some of the most dangerous and unsafe countries in the world, and who have applied for refugee status but not yet received a decision.
Contrary to popular claims that those seeking asylum are receiving large handouts, in reality they are forbidden from working while their applications are pending and must live on an allowance of around £5 per day.
Southport MP Damien Moore raised concerns about the town centre hotel being used for this purpose earlier this year, while Conservative Cllr Sir Ron Watson recently called for assurances that the use is only temporary.
He said that residents and business owners have expressed concern in recent months.
Sir Ron claimed: “While the Covid-19 situation has been an added area of concern, losing the Scarisbrick Hotel to Southport’s tourism product really is detrimental to the town and I have therefore asked Britannia to give assurances that they will work with Serco to re-establish the hotel as part of our tourism offer as a matter of urgency.
“I understand that there will now be considerable internal refurbishment and repair required and this must be a priority for the hotel group and would be a good indication of their willingness to co-operate fully in tourism development programmes for the town, which I hope in turn will be enhanced by funding that will become available from the Southport Town Centre Board.”
Responding to Mr Moore’s concerns in May, Sefton Council leader, Cllr Ian Maher, said: “Like Damien Moore, the council has every sympathy for people who are fleeing their homeland to escape persecution and has previously passed a full council motion, supported by all political parties, which welcomed asylum seekers into our borough.
“Ultimately, the placing of asylum seekers is the responsibility of the Home Office, supported by public services provider Serco Group plc, and the council is keen to work with them to help these people who have had to flee their homes, possibly because of war or human rights abuses.”