Afghan Refugee short term housing

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reohn2
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by reohn2 »

pete75 wrote: 16 Sep 2021, 1:53pm It's a popular wedding venue for folk with more money than sense and quite a few weddings have been cancelled in order to accommodate refugees. Weddings are lucrative business so I don't think lack of bookings is the reason.
There may well a Tory minister or donor cashing in on it.... .......cynic me? :?
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slowster
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by slowster »

The evacuation of those Afghans who had worked for UK agencies or the military, and were therefore very likely to be killed by the Taliban in reprisal, had to be undertaken at much shorter notice and far more quickly than the UK military and FCO had envisaged. The civil servants responsible for arranging their reception and accommodation therefore would have not have had the luxury of time to block book hotels well in advance and to find and negotiate the best deals.

For logistical and practical purposes it would make sense to concentrate as many refugees as possible in as few hotels as possible. It makes it easier and quicker to process them using fewer UK government personnel. If they need to be given information and have things explained to them, they can all be gathered together in one conference hall or similar and told at the same time. That also has the advantage that those Afghans whose English is poor, can get other Afghans present to translate and explain to them.

To state the obvious, the refugees arrived at the height of the holiday season during a year when demand for UK hotel accommodation, especially the budget hotels, has probably been greater than at any other time thanks to the pent up demand for holidays and restrictions on travel abroad resulting from Covid. Trying to find enough rooms for those refugees at short notice in numerous different budget hotels, with a requirement that they be accommodated for possibly some weeks until alternative arrangements could be made, would have been a logistical and practical nightmare.

The budget hotels often do not have large halls that can be used for meetings, so it would have been necessary to hire coaches etc. to bus them back and forwards to another location or locations to process them, and similarly for UK Government support staff to run around between hotels providing assistance and dealing with emergencies or problems.

I have no reason to believe that the civil servants who arranged for the refugees to be accommodated in that hotel did not make the best choice in the circumstances, including with a view to getting the best value for the taxpayer. It would not surprise me if some luxury hotels were finding it much more difficult to resume pre-Covid levels of bookings, and were therefore willing to slash their prices heavily when competing to win that Government contract. The hotel would have cancelled some weddings, but it's likely that wedding bookings were well below normal profitable levels, because they are booked so far in advance and Covid has probably made many people wary of committing to an expensive wedding which might have to be cancelled if Covid restrictions were ramped up again.

Comparing this unplanned/emergency short term accommodation provision with the long term residential accommodation provided for the military is disingenuous.
ossie
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by ossie »

Tripadvisor reviews would suggest the place is a bit of a dump so without doubt it was a commercial decision by the hotel owners to earn a few bob. Living in a seaside town its a well worn route taken by loss making establishments.

These poor souls will without doubt end up in low cost rentals in some grim inner city (take your pick) I really hope they don't think the surroundings are a pre cursor for what will inevitably follow.
pete75
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by pete75 »

reohn2 wrote: 16 Sep 2021, 5:30pm
pete75 wrote: 16 Sep 2021, 1:53pm It's a popular wedding venue for folk with more money than sense and quite a few weddings have been cancelled in order to accommodate refugees. Weddings are lucrative business so I don't think lack of bookings is the reason.
There may well a Tory minister or donor cashing in on it.... .......cynic me? :?
Don't.know if a Tory minister is involved but the place is owned by the husband of Princess Diana's sister as is the whole Stoke Rochford estate.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
pete75
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by pete75 »

ossie wrote: 16 Sep 2021, 7:57pm Tripadvisor reviews would suggest the place is a bit of a dump so without doubt it was a commercial decision by the hotel owners to earn a few bob. Living in a seaside town its a well worn route taken by loss making establishments.

These poor souls will without doubt end up in low cost rentals in some grim inner city (take your pick) I really hope they don't think the surroundings are a pre cursor for what will inevitably follow.


If you think Stoke Rochford hall is a bit of a dump you've obviously never been there.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
thirdcrank
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by thirdcrank »

I've never stayed at this hotel but Tripadvisor seems to be a widely-used source of info.

I was interested to know the source of this story and have jus done a bit of my own googling. Most of the hits were for various (discounted) offers but I found this from a local(ish?) rag

Grantham couple “in the dark” over wedding as second hotel takes in Afghanistan refugees
https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2021/09/gra ... -refugees/

I see that these particular refugees are said to be
families who have assisted the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan.
On the condition of the hotel, I've found this from 1017

Owners of Stoke Rochford Hall near Grantham fined after health and safety breaches
.... SKDC Cabinet Member for Commercial and Operations, Cllr Dr Peter Moseley, said: “These were serious offences. Improvement notices were repeatedly extended but the company failed to co-operate with council officers who were trying to help them. .....
https://www.granthamjournal.co.uk/news/ ... s-9102970/
ossie
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by ossie »

pete75 wrote: 17 Sep 2021, 7:14am
ossie wrote: 16 Sep 2021, 7:57pm Tripadvisor reviews would suggest the place is a bit of a dump so without doubt it was a commercial decision by the hotel owners to earn a few bob. Living in a seaside town its a well worn route taken by loss making establishments.

These poor souls will without doubt end up in low cost rentals in some grim inner city (take your pick) I really hope they don't think the surroundings are a pre cursor for what will inevitably follow.


If you think Stoke Rochford hall is a bit of a dump you've obviously never been there.
There are many places that look lovely from the outside but fail to live up to their appearance, this appears to be one. There are nearly 700 'poor' or 'terrible' reviews and the word 'dump' appears in quite a few when you utilise the search function. I'm not sure I've seen a place with so many bad reviews, which is a real shame.

We were fobbed off with a dump, with furniture that would be rejected by a charity.

What a dump. It is so sad (actually depressing) to see stunning old homes like this one neglected so much.

Well what can I say about Stoke Rochford Hall......what an absolute dump of a place!
pete75
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by pete75 »

thirdcrank wrote: 17 Sep 2021, 7:40am I've never stayed at this hotel but Tripadvisor seems to be a widely-used source of info.

I was interested to know the source of this story and have jus done a bit of my own googling. Most of the hits were for various (discounted) offers but I found this from a local(ish?) rag

Grantham couple “in the dark” over wedding as second hotel takes in Afghanistan refugees
https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2021/09/gra ... -refugees/

I see that these particular refugees are said to be
families who have assisted the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan.
On the condition of the hotel, I've found this from 1017

Owners of Stoke Rochford Hall near Grantham fined after health and safety breaches
.... SKDC Cabinet Member for Commercial and Operations, Cllr Dr Peter Moseley, said: “These were serious offences. Improvement notices were repeatedly extended but the company failed to co-operate with council officers who were trying to help them. .....
https://www.granthamjournal.co.uk/news/ ... s-9102970/
Hmmm standards in 1017 were very different from those of today :D
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
Vorpal
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by Vorpal »

Pebble wrote: 16 Sep 2021, 9:26am Meanwhile ex UK soldiers find themselves living in cardboard boxes on the streets, so many of our homeless are ex squadies, The bleedings hearts never seem to give a dam about these.
Who are the 'bleeding hearts' and what evidence do you have that they don't "give a dam"?

IMO, it's a disgrace that there are any homeless people in the UK, let alone people who have served their country. But it's not the bleeding hearts in charge at the moment.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
reohn2
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by reohn2 »

Vorpal wrote: 17 Sep 2021, 9:54am
Pebble wrote: 16 Sep 2021, 9:26am Meanwhile ex UK soldiers find themselves living in cardboard boxes on the streets, so many of our homeless are ex squadies, The bleedings hearts never seem to give a dam about these.
Who are the 'bleeding hearts' and what evidence do you have that they don't "give a dam"?

IMO, it's a disgrace that there are any homeless people in the UK, let alone people who have served their country. But it's not the bleeding hearts in chart at the moment.
I quite agree,the way exservice men and women are treated is a disgrace.
As for the homeless,does the government really give a damn about them?
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RickH
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Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by RickH »

pete75 wrote: 15 Sep 2021, 7:01pm I fully agree with the government accommodating Afghan refugees in hotels until permanent dwellings are made available. For homeless folk during the pandemic they used Travelodges, Premier Inns, Park Inns, Holiday Inns etc. Cheap and cheerful accommodation but clean and perfectly adequate. One would have expected the same with the refugees. Not always so though - locally they are being accommodated in the rather grand 4* Stoke Rochford Hotel. It does seem a little excessive.


Image
Stoke Rochford Hall is (or was until quite recently) the NUT (now National Education Union) national training centre as well as a hotel. So it is perhaps unsurprising, given the union connection, if they are giving space for refugees.

Whilst the building is pretty grand, many of the rooms are relatively modest. I've stayed there a couple of times on organised cycling weekends.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
pete75
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Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Afghan Refugee short term housing

Post by pete75 »

RickH wrote: 17 Sep 2021, 10:48am
pete75 wrote: 15 Sep 2021, 7:01pm I fully agree with the government accommodating Afghan refugees in hotels until permanent dwellings are made available. For homeless folk during the pandemic they used Travelodges, Premier Inns, Park Inns, Holiday Inns etc. Cheap and cheerful accommodation but clean and perfectly adequate. One would have expected the same with the refugees. Not always so though - locally they are being accommodated in the rather grand 4* Stoke Rochford Hotel. It does seem a little excessive.


Image
Stoke Rochford Hall is (or was until quite recently) the NUT (now National Education Union) national training centre as well as a hotel. So it is perhaps unsurprising, given the union connection, if they are giving space for refugees.

Whilst the building is pretty grand, many of the rooms are relatively modest. I've stayed there a couple of times on organised cycling weekends.
I think it depends what you pay. At one time it was a teacher training college and there are some accommodation blocks in the grounds, former halls of residence. Rooms here were let out when NUT rented the place. I suspect they still are and at much cheaper rates than the rooms in the hall itself. I'd forgotten about them though I do have fond memories of the female hall bedrooms.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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