Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Stuart Gillespie

Kirkcudbright hotelier calls on Dumfries and Galloway to get ready for influx of Ukrainian refugees

Stewartry’s Deputy Lord Lieutenant has called on Dumfries and Galloway to get ready for an influx of Ukrainian refugees.

Chris Walker has written to the council’s interim chief executive Derek Crichton asking for a number of buildings to be made ready for the imminent arrival of people fleeing the conflict with Russia.

Mr Walker, who runs The Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright, said: “We must be ready for the flow of refugees that is surely going to come here when nearly three million people will be displaced from their homes and cities and push their way across the borders into Poland and Romania.

“We must be ready to welcome them and offer them shelter.

“We need to put the old DGRI on standby. Let’s get it ready and get beds back in it. The nurses block next door is sitting empty. The Crichton Hall is being made into a five star hotel but until then lets get in it.

“There are plenty of other places on the Crichton campus so let’s be ready to take people in, check their paperwork and authenticity.

“Let’s be compassionate, offer them shelter and warmth. Then we can match them with families, people who are happy to take refugees in and give them food, warmth and shelter.”

UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi revealed on Tuesday that more than two million refugees had left Ukraine since the war started on February 24.

He described it as “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two”.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.