Hospital `should not be used for refugees'.
Byline: Alex LemonPEOPLE living near Hensol Castle have reacted with anger at the possibility that it could become home to asylum seekers.
The near-empty hospital in the Vale of Glamorgan is set to close next year and its 155 acres of grounds are already up for sale. The land, in the heart of an expensive executive belt, includes several large outbuildings which once housed up to 500 people suffering from learning disabilities. Now only 60 patients remain in the hospital.
A National Assembly source has said there is ``no doubt that Hensol is being considered'' as a possible home for hundreds of asylum seekers, as revealed in Saturday's Echo.
The Home Office has not admitted or revealed any official inspection but it has previously marked out Sully Hospital as a trial centre for 3,000 refugees. However these plans may be put aside after pressure from Sully residents and the approval of plans for executive homes on the site.
Residents in and around the Vale are strongly opposed to the use of Hensol Castle as an alternative.
Deborah Reynolds, from Tonteg, said: ``I'm absolutely flabbergasted. I don't believe these people should be in this country. I don't believe there are enough genuine cases. We're a tiny island and we can't even house our own children. There's not enough affordable housing for our youngsters. Why can't the building be used for them?''
Graham Staniforth, from Barry, who used to work in the hospital, said: ``It's disgusting that a building like that could be used for people who shouldn't be in our country. The first country they come to when they land is England, not Wales. Why should we have them here? Hensol Castle is a beautiful building with beautiful grounds. It's going to be turned into a five-star luxury hotel for people who shouldn't be there.''
Ray Long lives two miles from the hospital, in Pontyclun. ``I'm 66 and I worked since I was 14. I get a state pension of pounds 82 and that's after 51 years' service,'' he said. ``I can see asylum seekers coming here now in luxury.''
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| Publication: | South Wales Echo (Cardiff, Wales) |
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| Date: | Aug 12, 2002 |
| Words: | 351 |
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