Burnley to resettle five Syrian refugee families this year

As revealed in the Burnley Express in December, Burnley Borough Council will help to resettle a number of families in the coming years, with five expected this year.

An Executive meeting on Wednesday will consider a report with proposals and details about Burnley’s participation in the programme.

The report proposes that Burnley resettles a number of Syrian refugee families over the next few years, in line with the average number being resettled across the county.

Agreement to the proposals would lead to five families of Syrian refugees moving to Burnley later this year, with additional similar numbers coming to the town in 2018 and 2019.

Alongside this, there would be an increase in the number of houses being lived in by asylum seekers, from the current number of ten properties to a total of 20 properties in 2017.

Council leader Coun. Mark Townsend said: “We have already made a commitment that the town will play its proper part in helping resettle refugees, and will do so as part of a co-ordinated approach across Lancashire.

“This will be done in a systematic way, including by ensuring that all proper support arrangements are put in place with government support.”

The report takes account of concerns which have been raised about the impact of the programme and states that the “programme will be run without having any disproportionate impact on existing services”.