Penally’s county councillor has revealed details of correspondence dating back to 2016 which alludes to the fact that the Military of Defence camp at the village was deemed unsuitable by the UK Government to house asylum seekers, with the consideration at the time ‘shelved’.

Clr. Jon Preston who represents the ward of Penally said this week that it saddens him that ‘political manoeuvring’ continues to get in the way of ongoing matters concerning the facility which was repurposed by the Home Office last September to accommodate up to 234 male asylum seekers, with no consultation offered to the community or local authorities whatsoever.

In correspondence sent to Pembrokeshire County Council’s leader David Simpson and Wales’ Deputy Minister and Chief Whip Jane Hutt this week, Clr. Preston referred to a letter sent to residents of the village recently by MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire and Welsh Secretary of State Simon Hart where he stated that he had now ‘approached’ the Welsh Government to ask them to identify ‘suitable alternative accommodation’ in line with their ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ policy for asylum seekers.

In his update to constituents about Penally camp, Mr. Hart stated: “There have been a considerable number of exchanges between myself and the Home Office to explore ways in which the site can be returned to Military of Defence use at the earliest opportunity.

“The temporary planning permission under which the HO occupy the site expires in March. I have informed the HO that I think it is unlikely that the Local Authority will grant consent and that to challenge this could cause heightened tensions once again.

“With this in mind I have approached Welsh Government and asked them to identify suitable alternative accommodation in line with their “Nation of Sanctuary” policy for asylum seekers.

“As Welsh Government have expressed a view (shared by many on both “sides” of the debate) that Penally is unsuitable I hope they will seize the opportunity to work with me in identifying alternatives as a matter of urgency,” added Mr. Hart.

In a recent update to members of Penally Community Council on matters concerning the facility, Clr. Preston said that he was ‘appalled’ at the way in which the situation continued to be managed before aiming criticism at Mr. Hart, stating that after over three months since the re-purposing of Penally camp, he did not consider it ‘unreasonable’ for the local MP to ‘engage with the community’.

In his correspondence sent to PCC and the Senedd this week, Clr. Preston remarked: “It continues to sadden me to see the anxiety on both sides of the camp fence, whilst political manoeuvring continues to keep local people ill-informed and promotes an environment of hostility and uncertainty.

“Such apathetic regard to process and the wellbeing of individuals is unacceptable!”

Referring to Mr. Hart’s correspondence to residents and Wales’ Deputy Minister, Clr. Preston continued: “You will note at this late stage, there is now a wish to engage with Welsh Government on this matter despite some evidence that the Home Office have been considering the use of Penally camp for this purpose as far back as 2016.”

Back in October of last year, days after residents starting arriving at the facility in Penally, Mr. Hart said that the UK Government had not informed him of the plans to house asylum seekers at the camp.

In an interview Mr. Hart said that he discovered the news from Pembrokeshire Council. “I’ve taken it up with the Home Secretary Priti Patel on three, if not four, occasions now, plus the immigration minister,” he stated.

“The policy I can understand, and I understand the difficulty with Covid and finding Covid-compliant accommodation.

“I understand the difficulties at the moment over transport and all the things which have led to this. But the fact is that we all discovered completely by accident because of some comments on Facebook. There was no official contact.

“The practical application of this particular saga wasn’t handled particularly well and the Home Office have actually admitted that.

“Whether it would’ve made any difference to the final decision is debatable but it’s not really the point. We shouldn’t be discovering these things by accident and by the fact that somebody posted something on Facebook,” he commented.

In his correspondence to the Local Authority and the Welsh Government, Clr. Preston makes reference to an email sent to Tenby county councillor Michael Williams back in March of 2016 on rumours surrounding Penally camp possibly being repurposed, where Mr. Hart stated: “I have spoken at length with the Home Office Minister - in short he has said that the process of identifying a site is at an early stage and that it is still subject to consultation with the MoD, although the MoD have been saying publicly today that the deal is off.

“He is extremely surprised that the MoD have said anything about this publicly. They have been asked to assess the suitability of sites and their input will be critical in the final decision. It is correct that they gave told the MoD that Penally is unsuitable as far as they are concerned. However, we do as a country have an obligation when it comes to asylum seekers and there will need to be temporary housing somewhere.

“So, although it is true to say no final decision has been taken, and won’t for some time yet, it is also fair to say that I think it highly unlikely that Penally will end up being a preferred site,” added Mr. Hart at the time.

Clr. Preston has also revealed responses to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, which supports his notion that Penally camp was being discussed back in 2016, as the FOI asked - ‘1. Please confirm if the Home Office considered the use of Penally Camp between 2014 to 2018; 2. If the answer to (1) is yes, please confirm why the use of Penally Camp was not used to accommodate asylum seekers between 2014 to 2018.’

A response from the Freedom of Information Central Correspondence Team at UK Visas and Immigration department stated: “The Home Office does not hold information to suggest that the use of Penally Barracks to accommodate asylum seekers was considered between 2014 and 2018.”

However, a response from an MoD operations directorate at Whitehall in London back in May of 2016 stated: “I can confirm that the MoD does hold some information in scope of this request.

“All Defence estate that could meet Home Office and MoD requirements is being considered by MoD, as part of the scoping activity under the Home Office request. The MoD has made no final decisions on the suitability of Defence estate for this purpose.”

Clr. Preston also revealed an email from the Defence Organisation Infrastructure (DOI) to the then clerk to Penally Community Council in March 2016.

“You will note that then commanding officer states that plans for Penally camp have been ‘shelved’ - it would be reasonable to assume that the camp was not suitable at that time and remains so now!” he said.

The temporary planning consent under which the Home Office has use of the site expires by the end of March, with the HO previously stating that the camp would only be used for a period up to 12 months.

“It is also pertinent to point out that the Home Office have not yet submitted a planning application (for Penally camp),” continued Clr. Preston.

“Due to the timescales involved in such an application, it is unlikely that a determination could be made before the Permitted Development period expires. I remain unconvinced that there is any honourable intention to submit such an application.

“In the event of any possible future public enquiry I thought it prudent that you were fully aware of these exchanges,” added Clr. Preston.