Fighting fund for Stradey Park Hotel legal fees

The Furnace Action Committee has been working for eight weeks to object to the Home Office's plan to house asylum seekers at the Stradey Park Hotel.

You can find news about the campaign on the Furnace Action Committee Facebook page at - Furnace Action Committee Facebook page

Over the last eight weeks, we have highlighted -

• The scrapping of a four-star hotel

• The loss of 100 jobs

• The loss of revenue from tourism

• The way the Home Office is pushing through a flawed plan to house asylum seekers – without any public consultation!

• The impact the plan will have on the local community and services

The Furnace Action Committee is non-political and is made up of more than a dozen people who have the best interests of Furnace at heart.

We have an online campaign petition at - Furnace Action Committee petition

Following Carmarthenshire Council's announcement today (July 20) that the authority will not be pursuing the legal High Court injunction route to oppose the plan, The Action Committee has been forced to review its position.

It is now likely a court action will be started by Clearsprings Ready Homes and/or the Home Office and hotel owners Sterling Woodrow (Gryphon Leisure Ltd) to regain access to the site.

This court action may involve substantial legal costs for home owners in the immediate vicinity - home owners who are currently temporarily allowing protestors to occupy the forecourt in front of the hotel.

Our legal advisers suggest we need to employ a KC and other barristers as soon as possible to fight any proposed court action. Our initial estimate is that we need a fighting fund of at least £10,000.

The fighting fund will be administered by at least three members of the Furnace Action Committee (not including the author and organiser of this page). The fighting fund's accounts will be transparent and published at an appropriate stage in the battle.

The beneficiaries of the fund will be determined by three trustees representing the Action Committee, but will likely be the people named in any court action to regain control of the access to the hotel.