RESIDENTS of a middle class cul-de-sac have hit out after their beloved local hotel was turned into migrant accommodation.
The locals of Trinity Close, Stanwell, have been living next to a migrant hotel for years now.
N.CThe locals of Trinity Close protest outside the Stanwell Hotel almost every night[/caption]
N.CResidents who have lived in the village for decades turn out to protest outside the hotel which is being used to house migrants[/caption]
N.CThe street is littered with Union Jacks and St George’s Cross flags[/caption]
In the wake of the High Court ruling that saw the Bell Hotel in Epping – used to house migrants – shut down, local authorities across the country have begun considering launching legal bids to have their own migrant hotels closed.
The residents of Stanwell, a small village outside Heathrow Airport, are now protesting almost daily outside of the Stanwell Hotel in the hopes of having the migrants booted out.
The spot was once a much loved community hub used as a watering hole and venue for weddings, funerals, parties and functions.
Now, those living nearby have claimed they are barred from visiting for food or drinks and have been left feeling “intimidated” by its new residents.
One woman who lives on Trinity Close was claimed she fired from her job in the hotel and given the tough task of breaking the news to the rest of the street.
Alison Haskins, 53, told The Sun she protests outside the hotel along with her neighbours most nights.
She said: “I was working there and we got given a weeks notice to say they were turning it into an asylum hotel for Ukrainians, there were no Ukrainians there.
“I had to tell everyone from the street, we had to ring brides up to say sorry you can’t have your wedding there anymore.”
The Stanwell Hotel sits at the entrance to Trinity Close with locals forced to walk past the hotel every time they leave or come home.
In frustration Trinity Close residents have plastered their streets with St George’s Cross flags and Union Jacks, the flags fly from windows and doors and have been raised on lampposts up and down the road.
N.CThe Stanwell Hotel used to be a booming community hub where locals gathered to drink on the weekend[/caption]
N.CThe hotel once hosted weddings, funerals and parties for the community but has now been closed[/caption]
N.CKathleen Allaway, 81, has lived on the street for 13 years with her daughter just a few doors down[/caption]
Residents of Stanwell have been protesting the migrant hotel for weeks after it was claiming they were told that the accommodation would now be used to house male only accommodation.
When migrant families were moved in residents of the little village of Stanwell had no issue, they told stories of children trick or treating at Halloween and said the asylum seekers integrated well.
But now things have taken a turn, prompting outrage from the homeowners on Trinity Close, Alison told The Sun: “To start with there want any issues it was just families, now there are obviously single males in there even though we’ve been told categorically no there wasn’t.
“There’s the illegal bikes, smoking weed, taking photos, it’s intimidating. They’re laughing at us when we’re out there.
“They turned nasty.”
N.CProtests are kept peaceful by locals who say they just want their hotel back[/caption]
N.CAlmost every inch of the street is covered with Union Jacks[/caption]
N.CResidents have hosted over 20 protests outside the hotel[/caption]
N.CKathleen’s daughter married in the Stanwell Hotel and her family mourned her husband at his funeral in the venue[/caption]
Problems with drug use have allegedly become so bad that one woman, who asked not to be named, claimed her son is forced to sleep with her windows closed as clouds of weed smoke waft into her garden.
The resident directly neighbours the hotel and has been left with nothing but her garden wall separating her home from the accommodation.
She told The Sun: “I could spell cannabis in my garden a couple nights ago, I share a garden with the hotel.
“You might want to have your dinner and a glass of wine and you smell cannabis.
“There’s been quite a few issues. I know a young lads had a phone taken off him.
“My son couldn’t sleep with his bedroom window open the other night cause he could smell cannabis.
“It’s messy, we’ve got pictures of them sitting there smoking cannabis.”
Aside from the alleged brazen drug use migrants are also said to be following, filming and photographing the women on the street.
A young 27-year-old woman, Casey, who lives on the road told horror stories of allegedly being filmed and followed as she walked past the hotel.
N.CThe locals of Trinity Close fly British flags from their windows[/caption]
N.CWoman who live on the close say they feel ‘intimidated’ walking past it at night[/caption]
N.CResidents from all across Stanwell attend the demonstrations[/caption]
She attends the protests every night and hopes the landmark Epping ruling will see her council spurred on to make a similar legal bid.
Casey owns a large German shepherd that she now takes with her when she leaves in the hopes the intimidating dog will fend off any unwanted attention.
She told The Sun: “It’s been like that for three or four years, this year it’s slowly become men, there’s constantly men sat along the wall.
“Many women have been stared at, looked at, it’s very intimidating.
“There’s drug dealing there’s been rats there, I was filmed and followed by one of the men.
“I’ve got a big dog, proper dog, and you need it.”
She remembers the hotel fondly but now worries that the change of use has ruined the area for residents who raised concerns about their house prices.
She said: “It’s beautiful down here, everyone used to use it [the hotel] my family have had does in there, they used to do lovely tribute nights.
“People are upset about house prices, people don’t wanna buy a house with that down the road.
Casey, reported her issues to the police and her MP said she has hope that the protests will get the migrants removed by the council.
N.CThe lampposts on Trinity close are decorated proudly with Union Jacks[/caption]
N.CPatriotic locals fly the English flag in protest[/caption]
N.CResidents on the street worry about their house prices being affected by the migrant hotel[/caption]
N.CWilliam Moore has lived in Stanwell for 60 years, he says he ‘I would like the hotel returned to being a place where we could go and have a drink and a meal’[/caption]
She added: “Epping gave us hope but then equally it’s like hold on they’re going to need space.”
Colin, a father of two who’s elderly mother lives on Trinity Close told The Sun that walking past the hotel is an intimidating prospect even for him.
Like his neighbours he had issues with blatant drug use, intimidating males, mopeds used for illegal working and the loss of a treasured community space.
Colin said: “You hear about Epping but I don’t know if that applies to Sandwell or whatever.
“We’ve got no other route, it’s intimidating with me let alone my mum.
“I know young ladies that have had incidents with being videos which is concerning.
“There’s no other access apart from going past the hotel. Many a time they’ve been outside smoking pot. It’s just not right you can see it you can smell it.”
Round the corner on Atherton Close William Moore, 79, who has lived in the village for 60 years said he missed the old hotel where he went with friends to enjoy a pint and some food.
He worries if the Stanwell Hotel will ever be returned to its former state, William told The Sun: “The hotel used to be brilliant we all used to use it but once this all started the village has changed.
“I would like the hotel returned to being a place where we could go and have a drink and a meal.
“When this is all finished I don’t know if it’ll ever go back.”
The community has received some support from the local authority, William, who has attended 22 protests outside the hotel told The Sun a local Labour councillor had shown up to most of them.
He said: “We all signed the petition, a lot of the councillors have come around, one comes down every night, a labour councillor.
“The people like him.”
Kathleen Allaway, 81, has lived on the street for 13 years with her daughter just a few doors down.
She was keen to stress that the demonstrations, which she attends almost every evening, were peaceful.
Like her daughter and the other young women on the street she worries about safety and has felt intimated walking past the hotel before.
She misses the community space where her daughter got married and where her family laid her husband to rest, she told The Sun she worries that if her daughter leaves she wont be able to sell her house and follow her.
Kathleen said: “I’ve always lived in Stanwell, I had my daughters wedding there my husbands wake there, it’s our lives really. We had a lovely wedding there.
“It’s been taken away from us without, nothing, we don’t go pubs but in the hotel we could walk in quite nice.
“I’m elderly now but I can understand the young girls especially with the park where there’s mums and dads with children. There’s been single men in there as long as I can remember.
“I’m not saying they’re all bad but you never know do you.
“They’ve always got camera in their hands, they’ve been caught taking photos of women with push chairs. Them security men there know what’s going on, they open the gates for them to go out with their bikes and work.
“It’s not nice all these men walking round, it’s only a village. You can smell whatever they smoke.
“I wouldn’t put my house up at the minute if my daughter moves I’ll move but who’s going to want it?
“They’re only doing it for money, if you’re offered how many millions of pounds you’ll take it.”
Locals are hopeful that their continued protests will have an impact, spurred on by the legal success seen in Epping.
It comes after local authorities across the country began to look at launching legal bids of their own to have migrants booted out of local hotels.
Questions have been raised about where the asylum seekers will be moved to though, something locals in Stanwell said was a concern for them.
The Prime Minister and the Home Office now face a flurry of legal challenges and the tough job of housing hundreds of migrants.
The Home Office is appealing a landmark migrant ruling in a bid to stop asylum seekers from being kicked out of The Bell Hotel.
In Stanwell locals are continuing to protest every evening outside the Stanwell Hotel as communities across the country launch campaigns of their own.
N.CThe fence outside the hotel is plastered with placards[/caption]
N.CLocals leave flags and banners outside the hotel in full view of the asylum seekers[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
