'Public unrest' fears over asylum seeker proposal

COUNCIL WILL OBJECT TO FORMER CARE HOME PLANS AMID CONCERNS FOR COMMUNITY COHESION

- By OWEN HUGHES Chief Reporter

WREXHAM Council has voiced concerns over "community cohesion" and the "potential for public unrest and disruption" as it objects to a proposal to house asylum seekers in a former care home.

The proposal is for up to 70 asylum seekers to be housed at Plas yn Rhos in the village of Rhosllanerchrugog. It is a former local authority sheltered housing facility which closed in 2016 and was put up for sale last year.

Clear Springs, a company used by the UK government to source asylum seeker accommodation, is currently consulting about using Plas yn Rhos.

There is huge public concern over the proposal, with more than 700 attending a recent meeting over the plans and a 5,000-signature petition against the idea.

Yesterday, councillor Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham Council, read out a statement to the authority's executive board, setting out the authority's position.