Statement on the Castle Hotel

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council have been relying on B&B’s such as the The Castle Hotel over a number of years, more so in the past 2-3 years following the ‘No one left out’ Welsh Government Guidance issued at the start of the pandemic.

The Authority utilise B&Bs such as the Castle Hotel to provide emergency temporary accommodation to those, who would have been street homeless, without this provision. 

In the Hotel, there are dedicated housing related support workers in attendance Mon – Fri, these support workers offer 74 hours per week of direct support to the clients, and often provide more. 

We also provide additional security to the staff at the hotel to assist during evenings and weekends, this was at first to manage the public health emergency, this has since continued to ensure there are staff on site seven days a week. 

The Hotel is provided free of charge to applicants referred from the Housing Team and the hotel provides bedding and towels to guests. Residents are supported to maintain a safe and clean environment.

MTCBC staff are at the hotel throughout the week, as well as housing related support workers and carry out inspections and checks on both welfare of those residents and the rooms/facilities.  This is to ensure that there are no unmet support needs that need to be addressed.

The Hotel provides cooking facilities, including microwaves in communal spaces which are available for use by residents, and operate within fire safety rules and regulations.

For any maintenance or general reported room issues/faults, residents can report this to the Hotel directly at the front desk or to MTCBC’s Temporary Accommodation Officer – these are then investigated and remediated where necessary, it is pertinent to note, many images which have been shared via social media are historic issues which are now resolved and also, that where there has been damage and disrepair whether caused directly by residents or general maintenance issues, the hotel again, has remedied these swiftly and if repairs are necessary, alternative rooms are offered.

We are unable to comment on individual cases but can confirm individual complaints or issues are handled swiftly within the Housing Team, and complaints are dealt with via the corporate complaints policy and procedure.