Latest news with #PatrickHarley
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Dudley sees hundreds protest over asylum seekers in hotels
Hundreds of people have joined an anti-immigration protest in Dudley in a demonstration over the use of hotels for asylum seekers.A small group of counter-protesters also gathered in Market Place on Council's Conservative leader Patrick Harley has instructed a legal team to see if he can mount a legal challenge against the Home Office to prevent asylum seekers being housed in hotels in the Home Office previously said it was working with communities who had concerns. West Midlands Police said a protest and counter-protest took place "without significant incident". A BBC reporter at the scene said there were about 200 anti-immigration protesters, many with union flags, and about 20 or 30 counter-protesters, some with Palestine flags. He said there were a few scuffles with police that quickly died protest later moved to the site of a hotel where protesters believed asylum seekers were staying. West Midlands Police said officers were present at the protest and no arrests were made.A spokesman said there was some temporary traffic disruption and he thanked people for their patience."Our priority is always to keep people safe and in every decision around policing, public order and protests we must balance the right to freedom of expression with the right to tackle crime so we can ensure public safety," he said."The right to peaceful and lawful protest is a fundamental element of any democracy, and we are committed to upholding and facilitating this." Before the protest took place, Harley claimed that his comments had "probably calmed things down".He said people were "seeing a council taking a tough stance", adding: "They're seeing Dudley Council does not have the same issues with asylum seekers in lots of hotels as other authorities do – we only have one in the authority." He said people were entitled to protest and were "very angry" about the said: "This is an issue that is very emotive, so I can understand why people want to protest."What we don't want to see is people breaking the law, damaging property, making threats and really not bringing a good look to our borough."What we want is a peaceful protest and if people can come and protest in a very peaceful and lawlike manner, then I welcome people making their feelings well-known."But it has to be a peaceful protest and not the scenes we've seen in other parts of the UK recently." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Asylum hotels are a drain on economy' Dudley Council leader says
A council leader has called asylum hotels "a drain on the local economy", saying the one asylum hotel in his borough was "still one hotel too many".Dudley Council's Conservative leader, Patrick Harley, said he had instructed a legal team to see if he could mount a legal challenge against the Home Office to prevent asylum seekers being housed in Dudley hotels, following Great Yarmouth winning a similar injunction in made the comments after announcing he had stopped asylum seekers from being eligible for a scheme offering discounts on leisure facilities in the BBC has approached the Home Office for comment. Harley said the fact only one hotel in Dudley was being used to house asylum seekers was due to "robust dealings with Serco and the Home Office".The council leader claimed that there were nearly 4,000 asylum seekers placed in hotels across the West Midlands by Serco, but only 72 were in is one of the three companies responsible for asylum accommodation in the UK."One hotel is too many because I do not want the hotels in the borough to be full of asylum seekers," Harley told the BBC."We have a thriving visitor economy where we need quality hotels full of visitors who want to spend at our visitor attractions. "Instead, we have a failed Home Office ready and willing to fill them with people who have nothing to offer our visitor or wider economy." Figures published last month showed the government spent nearly a third less on hotels to house asylum seekers between April 2024 and March Home Office's annual accounts show £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation - an average of about £5.77m per day, down from £3bn or £8.3m per day the previous year.A senior Home Office source said one of the main factors behind the saving was moving some asylum seekers from hotels into other types of cheaper said the department had prioritised moving families and children into regular housing so they were not living in hotels for long periods of time. 'Services are for residents' Harley also addressed The Options+ Leisure Discount Scheme, set up in Dudley in 2004, which had been offering discounts to leisure facilities for a number of different groups, including asylum to the council leader, the scheme had helped 2,400 people over the last 21 years, including people on low incomes, registered carers, blue badge holders, students and scheme costs £12 a year for adults and £6 for under 16s, offering half price leisure activities at a number of facilities for people within certain concessionary groups."I became aware this week that asylum seekers had been added at some point and were eligible, although only six have ever taken advantage of the scheme," he said."Notwithstanding this, as soon as I became aware I made the decision as leader to remove it so asylum seekers can no longer gain access to this concession."I am of the opinion these services are for Dudley residents – many of whom have contributed to the funding of them through business rates or council tax." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trader says council will not save town centre
A Dudley trader who is facing financial disaster says Dudley Council's regeneration strategy will not save the town centre. Abigail Wakelam from Castle Crafts in Fountain Arcade is planning to close her shop in the new year after seeing a 75 percent drop in trade because, she says, shoppers find it difficult to get in and out of the town centre. The 38-year-old, who sells haberdashery, wool and also hosts knitting classes for people of all ages, believes concentrating on big projects does not help dying business now. Ms Wakelam said: 'By the time the tram is complete we will all be gone, why would people come in if there is nothing to come in too.' Work on the new Midlands Metro link connecting Dudley to the tram line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton is expected to be complete in autumn 2025 while the new bus interchange is also expected to be complete within months. Traders say disruption from the work plus the removal of two-hours free parking on council car parks is hitting their business. Dudley Council's leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, believes the future in Dudley is bright, he said: 'We're on the home straight in terms of the interchange and the metro which will revolutionise transport in Dudley, these will be up and running next year and more projects will fall into place around them. 'We'll be reinstating the blocked paving, introducing new furniture and generally making the gateway to Dudley town centre and Market Place feel really appealing.' John Green has run a butcher's shop in Fountain Arcade for 35 years, he said: 'Passing trade has gone, there is about 30 percent less footfall in the arcade. 'You have got to have a town with shops, there is nothing to come here for, people come in to get their meat then they go home.' Ms Wakelam believes authorities need to support the town with promotional events like craft markets, summer shopping events, more celebrations around Christmas, May Day and Black Country Day. She said: 'I am from Dudley, I love the town, we have got a lot of positives but you need support from the local council otherwise its hitting your head against a brick wall. 'I feel like crying, it makes me angry, there is so much potential.' Mr Green agrees, he added: 'It could be so different, we have the zoo, Priory ruins, Black Country Museum, we had a lovely museum and a beautiful library.' Dudley councillor Steve Edwards, from The Black Country Party, is backing the traders. He said: 'There is investment in the tram and bus but where are people going to catch the tram too – a deserted area?' Dudley council says Crowdfund Dudley has resulted in £200,000 in grants already supporting ten community schemes in the borough with funding also being used to support more than 30 events in borough town centres including Dudley. There is also £20m on the way for the town centre from the Plan for Neighbourhoods project and people can have their say on how the cash is spent through a survey on the council's website. Cllr Harley added: 'This is all alongside ongoing work such as the restoration of our historic buildings, new businesses like Fun City who are currently converting the old Dudley Museum into a major leisure venue, and of course plans for the ice rink which will serve not just the people of Dudley but will draw in people from across the Black Country and wider Midlands region.'
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Hopes for campaign to bring Dudley Football Club back home
There's nothing like playing in front of a home crowd – but for Dudley Football Club, it hasn't happened for 40 directors say finding a permanent home in the borough is "vital", while Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley said a potential site for the club has been identified. The team last played in the borough in 1985 but had to move out when a crater appeared on the pitch at Dudley Sports Centre. They now play seven miles (11.2km) away at Sporting Khalsa's ground in FC, a non-league team also known as the Robbins, was founded in 1888 and plays in the Midland Premier League. 'We could easily give up' Stephen Austin, one of the club's directors, said there have been many failed attempts over the years to move the club back to Dudley. "A return to Dudley is something we all want and need," he said."We've been in discussions for 40 years. We've been close on a number of occasions and not managed to get over the line so cautious is where we are."We have to remain optimistic because if not, we could easily give up."Dudley's connection to the sport is strong with footballer Duncan Edwards represented with a statue in the town was from Dudley and went on to play for Manchester United and England before his death in the Munich air disaster, aged just 21. Harley, leader of the Conservative-run council, said its officers were in talks with the club – and a potential site for the team has been identified."I think we're way closer now than we have been for many years," he said."There are lots of hurdles to overcome and we have to make sure that the council is not financially threatened by any proposed deal."It'll bring a sense of purpose to the area, it would bring a good morale boost." Former Dudley MP Marco Longhi raised the campaign in the House of Commons last year where it got the backing of the then Conservative culture secretary Lucy Sonia Kumar, the town's Labour MP, has started a petition to bring Dudley FC home."I'm very positive, we've got some things coming up in the pipeline and hopefully there is a place for Dudley to come back to," she said."It's not just about going to see the game for it's spirit, but what it will do for the economy." The club finished sixth place in the Midland Football League and is currently gearing up for the JW hunt charity cup on 5 June. Matty Lovatt, first team manager, said being back in Dudley would help with extra funding for the club's youth development."Having been here seven years, I feel like an adopted Dudley man," he said. "I feel attached to the club and I feel their pain. It's only right for the people that they've got a ground back in their own town." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Leader orders new green belt review
Dudley Council is to carry out a fresh review of green belt land across the borough to tackle questions from planning inspectors. Council leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, has ordered the review to prove there is none of the controversial grey belt in the borough which the Labour government says can be used for house building. The council's local plan for issues including how the authority will approve applications for new homes was submitted to the government for approval in February. The government set Dudley a target of approving 1,594 new homes per year; a target Cllr Harley says is unachievable 'even if we allocated all green belt land, greenfield and brownfield sites'. One of Labour's solutions is to use so-called grey belt land, which is green belt that has previously been developed or does not contribute to stopping towns merging together or preserving the character of a town. At April's meeting of Dudley Council, Cllr Harley said: 'Let's kill the myth on grey belt, we have no real grey belt in Dudley, however I have authorised another review of our green belt. 'That is because I believe with our plan now at the inspectors, one of the first things they will ask is 'have you done enough to satisfy you have grey belt – or don't?'. 'I believe when that work is concluded that it will simply say 'you have no grey belt and therefore our plan is sound.' The Dudley Local Plan proposes 10,470 new homes in the borough by 2041 with 97 percent built on brownfield land. The council is more hopeful of approval for its plan later this year after a decision by inspectors to approve the Wirral Local Plan which had a brownfield only strategy. Cllr Harley said: 'The news of the Wirral Plan is massive for us, as we now have a precedent. 'It shows that a brownfield first approach, which protects the green belt from development, can pass the test and get over the line. 'It has been approved despite being nearly 3,000 short of the government's recommended figure for the amount of houses being built there.' 'Ours is nowhere near that – we are only around 700 short.'
