THE Pontins holiday park which closed in Prestatyn last November is “no longer” under consideration to be used to house asylum seekers, the Home Office has confirmed.
Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park shut its doors with immediate effect on November 30, 2023, having been open since 1971.
On February 23, the Journal submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Home Office, asking if it had made any enquiries regarding the housing of asylum seekers at the park.
The Home Office responded yesterday (March 13) by saying: “The Home Office confirms that this particular site is no longer being considered to house asylum seekers.”
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James Davies, MP for Vale of Clwyd, has previously said that is aware of “serious expressions of interest” from holiday park operators about taking on the site.
Dr Davies has also written to a dozen successful holiday park operators to encourage them to look at acquiring the park.
Prestatyn Sands was also known as the location for the shooting of the 1973 film, Holiday on the Buses.
Lucy Frazer MP, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, has also written to Alex Langsam, chief executive of Britannia Hotels, which owns Pontins’ sites.
The chair of the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, also wrote to Mr Langsam, saying that the abrupt closures of Pontins’ parks in Prestatyn, Southport and Camber Sands caused “significant distress”.
Neither Mr Langsam nor Britannia Hotels has commented publicly on the matter since Prestatyn Sands closed.
Staff at Prestatyn Sands told the Journal they were only informed of its closure when a post was shared on Pontins’ Facebook page.
They added that the reason they were given for the park’s closure was that it was due to make a financial loss in 2024.
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