Rumours plans to house asylum seekers at uni building fell through due to failed payment over asbestos are untrue
The country's leading multinational public service provider has dismissed rumours about a failure to secure plans for housing asylum seekers.
Serco, which provides multinational defence, health, space, justice, migration, customer services, and transport for the UK, said that the rumours of plans to house more than 480 asylum seekers in a former Stafford university block falling through due to a failed payment around asbestos were not true.
The Express & Star was made aware of the rumours via an anonymous source. They suggested the plans to move 481 asylum seekers into Beaconside in Stafford had fallen through due to Serco failing to make a first payment due to asbestos being found in the building, but this has been denied both by the council and Serco.
The plans for the former student halls by Serco had been given the go-ahead by the Planning Inspectorate in June last year, with planning permission for the Home Office scheme being granted until the end of July 2029.
It had been met with widespread opposition from the community, local councillors and Stafford's MP, with fear of crime, social inclusion and strain on public health resources cited as the main reasons for opposing the scheme.
Both Stafford Council and Serco have maintained that there is no truth to the rumours about the payments.
A spokesman for Serco said: "There is no truth in these rumours whatsoever".
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.