A WOMAN from Towyn has had her wedding plans jeopardised after the hotel in the Conwy Valley she had booked agreed to provide emergency accommodation to asylum seekers.

Lucie Campbell, 28, from Towyn, was due to marry her fiancé, Simon Pritchard, at the Hilton Garden Inn at Adventure Parc Snowdonia in Dolgarrog on December 10.

But having booked her wedding more than a year ago at the hotel, she was told by her wedding co-ordinator on Saturday (November 5) that this will no longer be possible.

The hotel has closed to the public to support a UK Government contract, and there appears to be no availability for rooms in early 2023 on its website.

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Lucie added that the hotel has promised her a full refund of the thousands she paid to hire the premises for her wedding and reception, but said the situation has left her in limbo.

She said: “We took part in a Zoom meeting on Saturday night, where she (wedding co-ordinator) said that the wedding can't go ahead anymore because the hotel is housing refugees.

“That was basically it. There was no alternative, it was just: ‘Sorry, you can't get married anymore.’

“To be honest, I didn't say much because I was gobsmacked. It's not what you expect to hear five weeks beforehand.

“Everything was in place and paid for, all of the suppliers were booked - obviously they're going to refund me, but that's not the point.

“I'm just trying to find a venue now. She (wedding co-ordinator) was lovely; it's not her fault, I don't really know who to blame.”

Simon, 31, and Lucie have been together for more than a decade, and have three children, the youngest of whom was born three months ago.

Lucie is now in a race against time, not least because the deadline to give notice to the registrar, she said, is today (Wednesday, November 9).

She added: “I feel upset more than anything because it's my wedding day, and now I've got to find another venue, because we have to give notice again the registrar, and the latest we can do that is this Wednesday.

“The coordinator did say she'd look for venues for me, but she said that they don't get a say in this because the Home Office said they can't refuse them, and that the whole hotel (is full).

“I was thinking: ‘Could I still get married there anyway?’ but she said there are no rooms anywhere there; it's not going to be open to the public.

“Her only information was that the Home Office contacted the hotel and said they had to house these refugees as of Sunday.

“About 50 guests had been invited. People had booked it off work, and all my guests had booked rooms there - everybody was staying there.

“Hopefully I'll still be able to get married then, but time will tell.”

The Home Office does not comment on operational arrangements for individual sites used for asylum accommodation.

It added that it is working hard to find appropriate dispersed accommodation for migrants, asylum seekers and Afghan refugees as soon as possible.

It also urged local authorities to do all they can to help house people permanently.

The cost of accommodating asylum seekers in hotels is £5.6million a day, while the cost of accommodating Afghans in bridging hotels is £1.2m a day.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.

“The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6million a day.

“The use of hotels is a short-term solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.”

Robin Millar, the MP for Aberconwy, believes there are 86 people in residence at the hotel, but says it could rise to 100.

Mr Millar has raised a number of concerns about the location of the site.

He said: "It is a hotel, not a detention centre. It is isolated and unsupported by the appropriate services.

“I am also very concerned about the lack of notice, the poor communication and - most of all - the impact on communities in Dolgarrog and along Dyffryn Conwy."

Cllr Charlie McCoubrey, leader of Conwy County Borough Council, said the local authority was not given advance notice about these arrangements.

He said: “We are very sorry to hear that this family’s special occasion has been cancelled at such short notice.

“We were not given advance notice that the Home Office intended to accommodate people at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Dolgarrog. We have been making enquiries about the arrangements.

“The council and North Wales Emergency Services are working together to ensure appropriate measures are put in place by the Home Office to support the interests of individuals and the local community.

“Conwy has welcomed many people to the county in recent times, including those fleeing the war in Ukraine, however throughout that time we have been clear that this particular rural location is wholly inappropriate to house vulnerable people.”

Attempts were also made to contact London Rock Partners, the hotel operating company responsible for the Hilton Garden Inn.