A public meeting was held at All Saints Church in Easton on Tuesday June 6, with representatives from Portland Town Council, Dorset Council, Dorset Healthcare, Dorset Police in attendance and the Home Office answering questions via video call.
Portland Port were not in attendance, much to the anger of local residents who claimed their absence showed “little regard for the people of Portland”.
Portland Town Council hosted the public meeting which allowed residents to put questions to the Home Office and the Multi-Agency Forum (MAF) about plans to house 500 adult male asylum seekers on a barge at Portland Port.
The barge is expected to arrive soon with asylum seekers moving in shortly afterwards.
Hundreds of residents attended with many voicing their anger at the plans and a lack of consultation with local people.
Portland resident Martine asked the question: “What do you think of a company with so little regard for the people of Portland that they did not appear at all, what was their excuse?”
Dorset Council representative Cllr Laura Beddow replied saying she “could not speak on behalf of a private company”, but added that “it was disappointing they did not attend” in her personal opinion.
A spokesperson from Portland Port has now responded: “An invitation was received and, after careful consideration, it was decided not to attend to allow the Home Office and representatives of the Multi-Agency Forum (MAF) to present the facts and further information without distraction.
“This was carefully considered to make sure that the emphasis on operational matters was not diluted.
“As has been stated in previously the port has met with elected representatives from Dorset Council, Portland Town Council and Weymouth Town Council as well as representatives from Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce, Weymouth BID and the Castletown business community.
“Those meetings will be repeated after the barge is berthed at the port and before any asylum seekers arrive.
“The port also has representatives on key MAF sub-groups. Through these meetings and continued press releases we will continue to get the facts into the public domain in a clear and calm manner.
“We are committed to keeping the local community informed and take their concerns very seriously.
“We will continue to work closely with the MAF, Home Office and local agencies to prepare for the arrival of the Bibby Stockholm and minimise its impact on the community.”