An Epping-style protest to stop migrants being housed above a town’s high street shops is underway – as thousands of locals warn of ‘mayhem’ if the plans go ahead.
The Home Office sparked fury last week after it emerged they were secretly plotting to relocate 35 asylum seekers to a brand new apartment development in Waterlooville, Hampshire.
The move, part of a wider plan to lower the numbers in hotels and ‘disperse’ migrants across UK towns and cities, was branded a ‘disgrace’ by locals after it emerged talks had taken place without consultation with the local council.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the 19-flat development this evening blasting The Beatles and waving St George’s Flags and placards reading ‘Locals In Illegals Out’.
Others chanted ‘send them home’ and ‘whose streets? Out streets!’ as an activist told the crowds how Waterlooville had been sold down the river.
One protestor said that ‘enough was enough’ as he referenced the dying high street, long housing waiting lists, homelessness and unemployment in the area, noting the insult it was to see a flat
Speaking to the Daily Mail at the protest, Craig Jones, 41, from Waterlooville, spoke of his frustration that migrants were seemingly being put ahead of local people.
An Epping-style protest to stop migrants being housed above a town’s high street shops is underway – as thousands of locals warn of ‘mayhem’ if the plans go ahead
The Home Office sparked fury last week after it emerged they were secretly plotting to relocate 35 asylum seekers to a brand new apartment development in Waterlooville, Hampshire
Thousands could be seen gathered on the high street with flags and placards
The earmarked development is a newly converted block called Waterloo House. It is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham
He said: ‘We’re opposing having illegal men. For the past two years I’ve not seen any veterans or homeless people housed in the area.
‘They are situated right in the middle of Waterlooville.
‘I know people who have been on the housing list for years. I would like to see this given to veterans, homeless, it’s disgusting. Everything is always kept a secret.’
The earmarked development is a newly converted block called Waterloo House. It is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham.
At the top of the market, the flats could fetch £250,000 each but falling house prices mean taking them off the market and entering into a deal with Clearsprings, a company which procures accommodation for asylum seekers on behalf of the Home Office, could be a far more profitable move for Mountley Group.
That’s because the government could offer top of the market fees in order to get migrants into housing. As a result, Mountley Group could enjoy fixed guaranteed rates for several years and not be at risk of market turbulence.
As well as private rentals, the Home Office is seeking medium-sized sites such as former student accommodation and old tower blocks to house migrants.
The flats are located above a bric a brac store called The Junk Emporium which was once a Peacocks clothing store and before that, a Tesco.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the 19 flat development this evening blasting The Beatles and waving St George’s Flags and placards reading ‘Locals In Illegals Out’
Jdarno Osborne, a mum whose children have challenging medical needs, says the hotel has left her angry because she has struggled to get stable housing in the past
Others chanted ‘send them home’ and ‘whose streets? Out streets!’ as an activist told the crowds how Waterlooville had been sold down the river
Jdarno Osborne, a mum whose children have challenging medical needs, says the hotel has left her angry because she has struggled to get stable housing in the past.
The 36-year-old, who has lived in the area her whole life, told the Daily Mail last week: ‘It’s funny how they can quickly house people from out of the country yet our own don’t get support.
‘I’ve got six kids, I lived in a two bed flat for thirteen years and yet somebody can come over and get helped straight away.
‘My daughter is 15 now, they sometimes come here to hang with their friends. But it is worrying, there are things kicking off elsewhere because you hear of cases of rapes, harassment, stalking.
‘We have to deal with this but people don’t seem to care.’
Another activist told the crowd: ‘Who among you would like to see the homeless and veterans out into these apartments?
‘This is our country and we must promise to fight for it.
‘We don’t know who they are, we don’t know where they have come from. They have no reason to be here. They are here because of the Labour government and their policy.’
Protestors gather in Waterlooville high street protesting against migrant housing in the town centre
The earmarked development is a newly converted block called Waterloo House. It is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham
Gary Weaving, 46, a fourth generation soldier who served as a Royal engineer in Afghanistan, said: ‘The veterans have been literally dumped by the government.
‘We have so many people in British society that are so disadvantaged now. I want to live in a multicultural Britain where everyone lives in peace.
‘I’ve spoken to a lot of local people, we are being portrayed as animals, this is not a lower class issue, it’s an issue across all of society.
‘The mood of the country is at a boiling point. Unless we do this peacefully now, it’s only going to lead in one direction.
‘We are being taken advantage of. These are not refugees fleeing war. These are economic migrants whose first act is to break the law. They are not all bad people.’
James Glancy, 42, who has lived in Waterlooville since he was 12, said he has been homeless and finds it difficult seeing housing not going to locals.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I was homeless. It’s no good at all. I’ve seen this place go from good to s***.
‘You got loads of families with kids all in one beds, it’s an absolute joke and they’re helping them [asylum seekers] out.
‘They are skipping the queue.
‘They are making up new laws for this. It shouldn’t be happening. What is and what has been, that’s how it is. The rules are the rules.
‘We have to go and look for a job but they get everything just like that.
‘You should have to pay to go to a different country, get a visa like everyone else but that just doesn’t happen here.
‘We have to look after our own.’
