Villagers claim their sleepy idyll will be overrun with asylum seekers when a luxury four-star hotel becomes the second migrant holding centre in their local area next week – and have vowed to march in defiance to stop it happening.
Villagers of Standish, Wigan have protested heavily against the Home Office‘s acquisition of the plush luxury Kilhey Court court complex becoming outfitted for refugees fearing the small village will not be able to cope with the influx of ‘young men’.
Standish, which has a population of just under 13,000, already has one asylum seeker centre at a Britannia hotel site just 2.6miles from Kilhey Court.
Locals have reported that the 270-some inhabitants of the Britannia have caused trouble in the past with petty demeanors ranging from loitering to following women around the village while ‘grabbing their genitals.’
Wigan Council has also protested the Home Office’s decision to acquire the hotel with leader Councillor David Molyneaux MBE stating that the ‘particular hotel is not suitable, due to its location and limited local amenities.’
In protest at the decision by hotel group MacDonald to allow Kilhey Court site to be outfitted into a holding centre, defiant villagers have planned a protest march for September 3.