Alright, so apparently there have been a bunch of posts floating around claiming that asylum seekers have taken up residence in Pontins Merseyside. But hold your horses, mate, because that’s actually not the case at all. Despite what you might have seen on social media, the holiday park remains empty as a ghost town. The ECHO can confirm that there’s no one staying there, thanks to some fancy legal stuff that says it can only be used as a holiday resort. So, no need to panic about asylum seekers invading the place.
The whole hullabaloo started when some posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, started popping up, showing groups of people gathered on Ainsdale beach. But fear not, because Sefton Council has clarified that there’s no truth to these claims. The Home Office even did a little U-turn on their plans to potentially take over the site, much to the relief of the locals. It seems like the council had some chats with the Home Office, and they decided to back off from using Pontins as a place for asylum seekers.
One year after that whole fiasco, Britannia Hotels decided to shut Pontins down for good, leaving the community in shock. But guess what? The village of Ainsdale is actually doing pretty well without the holiday park. Lorraine Griffin, a long-time resident and worker at The Chocolate Box newsagents, mentioned that while Pontins did bring in some business, the village is thriving on its own. The closure of Pontins even spurred some redevelopment in the area, making it even more attractive to locals and tourists alike. So, it looks like Ainsdale is holding its own, with or without Pontins.
