{"id":100387,"date":"2023-10-30T04:44:38","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T04:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritycovernews.com\/?p=100387"},"modified":"2023-10-30T04:44:38","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T04:44:38","slug":"fury-at-plans-to-move-hundreds-of-asylum-seekers-into-new-luxury-flats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritycovernews.com\/world-news\/fury-at-plans-to-move-hundreds-of-asylum-seekers-into-new-luxury-flats\/","title":{"rendered":"Fury at plans to move hundreds of asylum seekers into new luxury flats"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Fury at plans to move hundreds of asylum seekers into new luxury block of flats in upmarket Surrey town where one-bedroom apartments cost almost \u00a3300,000<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>EXCLUSIVE:\u00a0\u00a0As many as 300 could be homed in the newbuild luxury flats<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hundreds of asylum seekers are set to move into a luxury block of flats in a posh riverside town under controversial plans by the Home Office.<\/p>\n<p>As many as 300 could be homed in exclusive Syward Place in Chertsey, Surrey, where a one-bedroom flat costs almost \u00a3300,000.<\/p>\n<p>The quiet town, on the River Thames and nestled formerly in London\u2019s Stockbroker Belt, has a population of just 15000 and residents fear the arrival of so many immigrants in one place will fuel tension and prove a drain on already creaking local services.<\/p>\n<p>The Home Office has earmarked Syward Place \u2013 which is still under construction and due for completion in January \u2013 as a possible site for \u2018dispersal accommodation.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It means that the development, a former office block in Chertsey town centre and next to the railway station, would be where asylum seekers are housed &#8211; at cost to the UK taxpayer &#8211; while they await their claims to be processed, which in some cases can take years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77085977-12680521-image-a-6_1698419907640.jpg\" height=\"458\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Joseph Williams, 32, (left) and Steve Pearman, 40, (right) think the flats should be used for veterans and the homeless\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77085999-12680521-image-a-1_1698419823540.jpg\" height=\"427\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of asylum seekers are set to move into a luxury block of flats in a posh riverside town under controversial plans by the Home Office<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77086003-12680521-image-a-10_1698420010489.jpg\" height=\"529\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>As many as 300 could be homed in exclusive Syward Place in Chertsey, Surrey, where a one-bedroom flat costs almost \u00a3300,000\u00a0(Pictured: Interior of a show flat in the Syward Place development)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77085983-12680521-image-a-3_1698419838186.jpg\" height=\"490\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Home Office has earmarked the flats\u00a0 as a possible site for \u2018dispersal accommodation\u2019 (Pictured: Interior of a show flat in the Syward Place development)<\/p>\n<p>Musician Jenny Brown, 55, who lives close to the block, believes it\u2019s unfair and told MailOnline: \u2018When you have so many youngsters struggling to get on the housing ladder, is it right to give people who have only just arrived in this country such an exclusive property?<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0Ministers are accused of having &#8216;no credible plan&#8217; to end the use of migrant hotels by MPs who say the government faces a &#8216;huge challenge&#8217; in clearing the asylum backlog<\/h3>\n<p>\u2018This development is way out of the price bracket for most people aged in their twenties, many of whom are having difficulties actually getting a mortgage.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Then you have people who have contributed towards society all their life falling on hard times and they often become overlooked and given absolutely no support.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It seems that the benefits system is heavily skewered towards those who haven\u2019t contributed at all and I think this development and its potential use as accommodation for asylum seekers is a symbol of that<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The flats are mainly one bedroom and so I think will probably end up in the main being given to single men.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think that throws up additional concerns on whether they would integrate with the local population or remain very separate.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Housing so many asylum seekers in one building may lead to them being quite isolated from the rest of the town, it\u2019s as if the Government is packing them all up and hiding them away.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018People complain that there\u2019s already a strain on local resources, that it\u2019s difficult getting a doctor\u2019s appointment, that schools are over-subscribed and this is only going to make matters much worse.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77086009-12680521-image-a-4_1698419853211.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The quiet town, on the River Thames and nestled formerly in London \u2019s Stockbroker Belt, has a population of just 15000 (Pictured: The Syward Place development<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77085997-12680521-image-a-5_1698419869558.jpg\" height=\"481\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Musician Jenny Brown, 55, (pictured) who lives close to the block, believes it\u2019s unfair<\/p>\n<p>A one-bedroom home in Syward Place currently costs \u00a3290,000 while a two-room flat on the second floor would set prospective owners a hefty \u00a3450,000. In total there are 127 flats.<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0Fifty migrant hotels will reopen to the public: Government to end contracts within months as minister Robert Jenrick says eyewateringly expensive scheme for small boat arrivals is &#8216;one of the most damaging manifestations&#8217; of the migrant crisis<\/h3>\n<p>The plans have caused serious concern among the local MP and council leader.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Spencer, Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, said: \u2018Asylum seekers need quality accommodation and support, and this includes integration into communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This proposal is not that, and I will fight against any proposal which is unfair to our local community or the asylum seekers that need to be housed.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Tom Gracey, leader of Runnymede Borough Council, said: \u2018Plans to place 300 people in one location will place an unmanageable burden on local services and our ability to provide the support these families may need.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The site suggested was also intended to provide affordable housing for local residents. It cannot be that plans to support asylum seekers mean local residents miss out.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Joseph Williams, 32, contrasted the plans for asylum seekers and a friend of his who has lived and worked in Chertsey all his life but recently been made homeless.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018A friend of mine recently split with his partner and as the property they rented was in her name he had to leave and is trying to get on the list for a council house.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But he\u2019s had to jump through a lot of hoops, he\u2019s having to pull together 12-months of bank statements and proof that he\u2019s always lived in the town.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The likelihood is that it\u2019s going to take him months \u2013 perhaps many months \u2013 to get himself sorted with a home and so in the meantime he\u2019s going to have to find a hostel short-term.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That hostel will be like nothing like the flats the Government wants to house the asylum seekers in. It isn\u2019t right, it isn\u2019t fair.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77085989-12680521-image-a-7_1698419973230.jpg\" height=\"485\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The luxury flats are set to be some of the most enviable addresses in Chertsey (Pictured: Interior of a show flat in the Syward Place development)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77085987-12680521-image-a-8_1698419979946.jpg\" height=\"471\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The rooms all have large windows allowing in natural light (Pictured: Interior of a show flat in the Syward Place development)<\/p>\n<p>Steve Pearman, 40, agreed and said: \u2018I know that asylum seekers have to be homed somewhere and they have to have somewhere comfortable but how many military veterans do we have who are homeless? How many young people can afford to live in a block like this?<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It seems to me that we are ignoring people who have worked hard \u2013 in some cases actually fought for the country \u2013 in favour of people who have come into Britain very recently and of which we know very little about.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The plans have also proven to be a hot topic of conversation on local Facebook groups, with other residents sharing similar stories.<\/p>\n<p>Tina Furness wrote: \u2018Runnymede Council will not rehouse my brother who is being kicked out of his home after my mother passed away in April and he has lived there for 27-years.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He is disabled and has learning difficulties. But at the bottom of his road \u2013 where he is being evicted \u2013 they want to house immigrants in lovely new flats.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/27\/16\/77085973-12680521-image-a-11_1698420189992.jpg\" height=\"470\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The bathrooms are sleek and modern\u00a0(Pictured: Interior of a show flat in the Syward Place development)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/28\/01\/77101843-12680521-image-a-40_1698451821618.jpg\" height=\"476\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The plans have caused serious concern among the local MP and council leader. Pictured, interior\u00a0of a show flat in the Syward Place development, Chertsey, Surrey<\/p>\n<p>Sue Smith wrote: \u2018My son, a single dad, was told by Runnymede Council they could not help house him as he earns too much money \u2013 but out of that money he pays taxes which help support projects like this to house immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018So the council will house them but not him. This country has completely gone down the pan. It\u2019s disgraceful that he should be forced into private renting and not the council register when he would pay his rent and not claim any benefits. It\u2019s a joke.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The Home Office say the number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and so has put the asylum system under incredible strain.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson said: &#8216;We continue work to move to a more orderly, cost effective and sustainable system for accommodating asylum seekers using alternative sites.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;We understand there are strong concerns from local communities and we are committed to closely engaging with local stakeholders to ensure these are addressed.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12680521\/Fury-plans-hundreds-asylum-seekers-new-luxury-block-flats-upmarket-Surrey-town-one-bedroom-apartments-cost-300-000.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fury at plans to move hundreds of asylum seekers into new luxury block of flats in upmarket Surrey town where<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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