Chichester Park Hotel: Protests and counter-protests continue amid fears city hotel could be used to house asylum seekers
The protests, which also took place last week, come after a joint statement by Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council confirming rumours that the home office is looking at a Chichester-area hotel to house refugees.
Although government officials have not confirmed that the Park Hotel will be used, the business stopped accepting new bookings as of September 26, and all pre-existing bookings have been cancelled. The three star hotel’s restaurant, bar, gym and swimming pool have all also been closed to the public.
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Hide AdMany of the protestors believe that use of the hotel to house refugees will prove detrimental to Chichester as a community, taxing oversubscribed schools, hospitals and doctor’s surgeries in a country which, they claim, is already failing to look after its own.
"We have a homeless problem here in Chichester. There’s a homeless problem in Bognor Regis, too. Do we ever talk about addressing that with something like this?” one protestor told the Chichester Observer.
"The homeless get nothing, the elderly barely get that. And yet the government is willing to spend this kind of money on people who have never been to the UK.”
Another added: “We’re not racist. There’s not a racist bone in any of us, we’re not here for that. We don’t want to stop actual, genuine refugees, but how do we know that’s what we’re getting?”
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Hide AdThe protests come amidst rumours that the 81-bedroom hotel will be used to house between 150 and 300 asylum seekers, although this has not been confirmed by any official source.
Simon Magorian, a counter-protestor, said rumours about the number of refugees set to arrive in Chichester have been grossly exaggerated. “The refugees won’t be staying there indefinitely. They’ll be moved across the country. Also, it’s an 81-room hotel. 81 refugees in Chichester is not going to change the nature of the city.
“Some of these refugees will be highly educated, some of them won’t be. But a lot of them will already have English language skills, and they can all make a contribution to British society.”
Ultimately, Mr Magorian believes the protestors do not reflect or represent the majority of residents in Chichester: “None of them are worried about the hotel. There were people there with an agenda, and not a pleasant agenda. Many of them quite clearly had a background in far-right politics. They do not represent the people of Chichester.
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Hide Ad"There will be children coming in with these refugees. And they will be told of the protests. It’s important that they know there was some body standing on the other side saying ‘we don’t care that you’re refugees. You’re welcome here.’ It doesn’t matter if there’s five of us, or one of us. It matters that there are people saying ‘we care about you. Welcome.’”