Home Office plans to use a Pontins site to house asylum seekers have been labelled "dehumanising". It is thought the government is planning to buy up and convert "underperforming" Pontins camps, of which there are sites in Burnham-on-Sea, Southport and Camber Sands, East Sussex.
But Alex Kempton, director of operations and campaign for The Refugee Buddy Project, claims the project shows a "hostility" towards asylum seekers and refugees. Speaking to KentLive, she said “We are very concerned about the potential use of a holiday park in Camber Sands to house people seeking refuge. The plans to place people in this type of accommodation - which are detention centres - is yet more evidence of the hostility of this government toward vulnerable people.
“Placing large numbers of people in unsuitable conditions is completely dehumanising, they lose all control over their lives; have no way of cooking for themselves; have no choice over the simplest things such as the food they eat or the soap they use; and they are often crammed into rooms which are too small and which deny them any dignity.”
Similar plans to house asylum seekers in a Merseyside resort owned by Pontins were also considered. Sefton Council confirmed the government abandoned this option.
The Home Office would not comment on whether the 820-unit holiday camp in Camber Sands would be used to house asylum seekers. Alex added: “We advocate for Community Not Camps - placing people seeking refuge in communities where they can be welcomed and can thrive in their new homes.
“We simply don’t accept that this is the way we should be treating people seeking refuge and the incredible community response to the people placed in a hotel in Hastings proves that our community agrees.”
On TripAdvisor, Pontins’ Camber Sands Centre has a two out of five rating. One person said: “What an awfully sad place this is now. The apartments are disgustingly dirty, curtains half hanging off, kitchen area was mouldy, refrigerator leaked, bathroom had other people’s waste around it.
“Outside the apartments are fag butts galore. Broken windows. The senior management of the Britannia Hotels group obviously do not care, are they running it into the ground to close it down? It would appear that way. Perhaps if you charged more and improved the apartments they wouldn’t get as trashed as they are. Lack of cleanliness is unforgivable - shame on you for your lack of respect.”
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Another added: “Avoid this Pontins. It needs closing. The whole area is falling down almost. Not been looked after. The inside areas are dirty, it doesn't look like they are ever cleaned. The chalets are deplorable.”
A government spokesperson said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels due to the unacceptable rise in small boat arrivals and our commitment to accommodate those from Afghanistan. We therefore continue to look at all available options to source appropriate and cost-effective temporary accommodation.”
There were 72,027 asylum applications (relating to 85,902 people) in the UK in the year ending September 2022. According to Home Office data, there were 26380 asylum seekers living in temporary accommodation at the end of 2021
