Data Sources
Every figure on Migrants Near Me is sourced from official government publications, parliamentary records, National Audit Office reports, or verified news investigations. Below is the complete list.
How We Verify
Every source listed below has been reviewed against at least one other independent publication before being included. New NAO reports, for example, are cross-checked against parliamentary written answers, Home Office statistical releases, and news investigations covering the same period. A figure that appears in only one source and cannot be corroborated is flagged as unverified and excluded from the headline totals.
Revisions are tracked. When a department restates a previously published figure, we update the record and note the change on the methodology page so the tracker reflects the best available data rather than outdated estimates.
741 sources across 5 categories. Last reviewed: March 2026. Sources are checked regularly and updated when new official data is published.
Hotel & Accommodation Costs
Asylum accommodation in the UK
Migration Observatory, University of Oxford · Aug 2025
£170 per person per day in hotels (2024/25 average); used for per-hotel estimates and food/utilities breakdowns.
https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/asylum-accommodation-in-the-uk/UK's asylum hotel bill down 30%, government says
BBC News · Jul 2025
£2.1 billion annual on hotels (2024/25; £5.77 million daily average, down 30%).
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgeqwv98d55oThe Home Office's asylum accommodation contracts
National Audit Office · May 2025
222 hotels in use; £1.296 billion annual (2024/25); per-hotel approximately £5.84 million.
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/home-offices-asylum-accommodation-contracts.pdfAsylum accommodation support: Use of hotels
House of Lords Library · Jan 2025
£3.6 billion on asylum support (2022–23); extrapolated for 2023/24 hotel trends.
https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/asylum-accommodation-support-use-of-hotels/UK spent 3 billion pounds on asylum seeker hotels in 2023/24
Reuters Fact Check · Nov 2024
£3 billion on hotels (2023/24 annual); base for prior year comparison.
https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/uk-spent-3-billion-pounds-asylum-seeker-hotels-202324-not-7-billion-2024-11-15/The TRUE Cost of Housing Asylum Seekers
Charlie Sansom (Analysis) · Jul 2025
£3.1 billion peak on hotels (2023/24; £8.3 million daily average).
https://www.charliesansom.com/p/the-true-cost-of-housing-asylum-seekersFact Check: Housing asylum seekers in hotels
Reuters · Jun 2025
£108 million monthly on hotels (2024/25; used for £3.6 million daily base).
https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/housing-asylum-seekers-hotels-did-not-cost-uk-1-billion-pounds-month-202425-2025-06-20/Financial Analysis & Total Spending
Home Office budgeting and asylum overspends
Institute for Fiscal Studies · Aug 2024
£110 million planned annual asylum spend (historical baseline; contrasted with actual £5.4 billion overspend).
https://ifs.org.uk/articles/home-office-budgeting-and-asylum-overspendsNew NAO overview shows Home Office total spending on asylum
Electronic Immigration Network · Oct 2024
£4.7 billion asylum support (2023/24; £3 billion on hotels).
https://www.ein.org.uk/news/new-nao-overview-shows-home-office-total-spending-asylum-and-migration-2023-24UK asylum accommodation expected to cost three times more
The Guardian · May 2025
£15.3 billion over 10 years (accommodation; averaged approximately £4.2 million daily).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/07/uk-asylum-seeker-accommodation-costs-over-decade-triple-to-15bn-naoAsylum accommodation costs set to triple, says watchdog
BBC News · May 2025
£15.3 billion over 10 years (total accommodation).
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2720n2kkjoA council-by-council breakdown
Sky News · Aug 2025
£145 per day per asylum seeker (2024/25).
https://news.sky.com/story/government-struggling-to-reduce-migrant-hotel-use-as-asylum-claims-hit-record-level-13415697Decentralise asylum accommodation to tackle soaring costs
IPPR · Oct 2024
£41,000 per person annual (2023/24); for system-wide estimates.
https://www.ippr.org/media-office/decentralise-asylum-accommodation-to-tackle-soaring-costs-and-substandard-quality-says-ipprGovernment & Audit Reports
Investigation into asylum accommodation
National Audit Office · Mar 2024
Costs when leaving hotels (new accommodation add-ons).
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/investigation-into-asylum-accommodation.pdfUK Asylum Hotel Costs: Verified Figures (2019–2025)
Asylum Facts UK · 2025
Year-by-year hotel costs (consolidated for trends).
https://asylumfacts.org.uk/costsAsylum hotels close as government scales up use of large sites
GOV.UK (Home Office) · Apr 2026
Official government announcement of 11 asylum hotel closures, listing the Citrus Hotel in Cheltenham by name and estimating annual savings of nearly £65 million.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asylum-hotels-close-as-government-scales-up-use-of-large-sitesHotel Procurement for Migrants/Asylum Seekers — Freedom of Information request to the Home Office
WhatDoTheyKnow (FOI) · 2023
Home Office FOI response confirming that the Maycliffe Hotel at St Luke’s Road North, Torquay, TQ2 5NZ was procured through Clearsprings Ready Homes for the temporary accommodation of migrants and asylum seekers, and that following local authority intervention the site was not ultimately used for that purpose.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/hotel_procurement_for_migrantsasUpdate regarding Asylum Accommodation in Torbay
Torbay Council · Nov 2022
Council statement that it became aware of plans for a third asylum seeker hotel in Torbay without prior notification and instructed solicitors to pursue a judicial review of the Home Secretary’s decision on three grounds including planning impact and Children’s Services considerations.
https://www.torbay.gov.uk/news/pr8780/Alternative asylum accommodation will cost more than hotels
National Audit Office · Mar 2024
NAO finding that the Home Office expects to spend £1.2 billion on its large-sites programme and had already spent at least £230 million by March 2024 developing four large sites (Bibby Stockholm, RAF Scampton, RAF Wethersfield and former student accommodation in Huddersfield); concludes large-scale sites will cost more than hotels and deliver fewer places than planned.
https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/alternative-asylum-accommodation-will-cost-more-than-hotels/Investigation into the acquisition of the Northeye site for asylum accommodation
National Audit Office · Nov 2024
NAO investigation confirming the Home Office completed the purchase of the former HMP Northeye site at Bexhill-on-Sea in September 2023 for around £15.4 million, more than double what the previous owner had paid a year earlier, before concluding the site was unsuitable for asylum accommodation.
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/investigation-into-the-acquisition-of-the-northeye-site-for-asylum-accommodation/Asylum accommodation: hotels, vessels and large-scale sites
House of Commons Library · 2025
Parliamentary research briefing surveying the UK asylum accommodation estate including hotels, accommodation vessels such as the Bibby Stockholm, and large-scale sites on surplus government or ex-military land.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9831/Crowborough Training Camp, East Sussex: factsheet
GOV.UK (Home Office) · 2026
Official factsheet on the use of Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex as temporary asylum accommodation for single adult male asylum seekers aged 18–65, with arrivals from 22 January 2026.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-at-military-sites-factsheets/crowborough-training-camp-east-sussex-factsheetCameron Barracks, Inverness: factsheet
GOV.UK (Home Office) · 2026
Official factsheet on the plan to use Cameron Barracks in Inverness as temporary accommodation for up to about 300 single adult male asylum seekers aged 18–65.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-at-military-sites-factsheets/cameron-barracks-inverness-factsheetFOI 25-3819: Crime and incident statistics — Learmonth Terrace asylum accommodation
Police Scotland (FOI Disclosure) · Dec 2025
Police Scotland FOI disclosure log entry responding to a request for crime and incident statistics linked to the asylum accommodation hotel on Learmonth Terrace, Edinburgh.
https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2025/december/25-3819-asylum-seeker-hotel-crime-incident-etc-stats-learmonth-terr-edinburgh/Asylum seeker hotel accommodation in Scotland — FOI release
Scottish Government · 2025
Scottish Government FOI release setting out what it holds on asylum seeker hotel accommodation used across Scotland.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202500476595/Council Leader statement on asylum hotel injunction
Wakefield Council · 2025
Wakefield Council Leader statement on the local authority’s position regarding injunctions covering asylum hotels in the district, including Cedar Court Hotel at Calder Grove.
https://www.wakefield.gov.uk/your-district/council-leader-statement-on-asylum-hotel-injunctionEpping Council loses challenge to use of hotel as asylum accommodation
Free Movement · 2025
Legal analysis of Epping Forest District Council's unsuccessful court challenge to the Home Office's use of The Bell Hotel in Epping as asylum accommodation, including the £566,000 cost figure.
https://freemovement.org.uk/epping-council-loses-challenge-to-use-of-hotel-as-asylum-accommodation/Asylum hotels close as government scales up use of large sites
GOV.UK · 2026
UK government announcement of the 11 asylum hotel closures across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in early 2026, claiming an annual saving of nearly £65 million.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asylum-hotels-close-as-government-scales-up-use-of-large-sitesFactsheet: Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre
Home Office · Nov 2021
Official factsheet covering the opening of Derwentside IRC near Consett, County Durham as a women's detention centre on the former Hassockfield site.
https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/11/23/factsheet-derwentside-immigration-removal-centre/Haslar Immigration Removal Centre factsheet
GOV.UK · 2025
Official factsheet on the reopening of Haslar IRC in Gosport with phase-1 capacity of 130 beds and target capacity of 600 beds.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/haslar-immigration-removal-centre-factsheet/haslar-immigration-removal-centre-irc-factsheetCampsfield Immigration Removal Centre factsheet
GOV.UK · 2025
Official factsheet on the December 2025 reopening of Campsfield House IRC in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, with phase-1 capacity of 160 beds and target of 400.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/campsfield-immigration-removal-centre-factsheet/campsfield-immigration-removal-centre-factsheetIndependent Monitoring Board: Gatwick IRCs annual report 2023
Independent Monitoring Board · Aug 2024
IMB annual report covering Brook House and Tinsley House at Gatwick, including the more-than-doubling of use-of-force incidents at Brook House in 2023.
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/13/2024/08/IMB-Gatwick-IRC-2023-annual-report-FINAL.pdfIndependent Monitoring Board: Yarl's Wood IRC annual report 2024
Independent Monitoring Board · Jul 2025
IMB annual report on Yarl's Wood IRC documenting the mixed-use facility (376 male IRC + 58 female IRC + 10 male short-term holding) at Twinwoods Business Park, Bedfordshire.
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/13/2025/07/Yarls-Wood-IMB-2024-annual-report-1.pdfYarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre
GOV.UK · 2025
Government overview of Yarl's Wood IRC in Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire and its current operational profile.
https://www.gov.uk/immigration-removal-centre/yarls-wood-bedfordshireA re-inspection of the initial processing of migrants arriving via small boats
Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration · Jun 2023
ICIBI re-inspection report covering Western Jet Foil and Manston processing centres, including the unlawful detention of around 18,000 migrants for over 24 hours between June and November 2022.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/648ad51d103ca60013039f8d/A_re-inspection_of_the_initial_processing_of_migrants_arriving_via_small_boats__including_at_Western_Jet_Foil_and_Manston_January_to_February_2023.pdfReport on an unannounced inspection of Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre
HM Inspectorate of Prisons · May 2025
HMIP report on the January-February 2025 inspection of Colnbrook IRC, finding the centre well led with reasonably good outcomes but flagging inconsistent safeguarding and underuse of the Rule 35 process for vulnerable detainees.
https://cdn.websitebuilder.service.justice.gov.uk/uploads/sites/19/2025/05/Colnbrook-web-2025.pdfAnnual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at Heathrow IRC 2023
Independent Monitoring Board · 2024
IMB annual report covering Heathrow IRC (Harmondsworth and Colnbrook sites), recording 8,284 detainees passing through the combined estate in 2023 and continuing concerns about healthcare and length of detention.
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/13/2025/04/Heathrow-IRC-IMB-2023-annual-report.pdfFind an immigration removal centre: Colnbrook, Middlesex
GOV.UK · 2025
Government overview of Colnbrook IRC at Colnbrook Bypass, Harmondsworth, with operational profile and visiting information.
https://www.gov.uk/immigration-removal-centre/colnbrook-middlesexReport on an unannounced inspection of Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre
HM Inspectorate of Prisons · Aug 2023
HMIP report on the April-May 2023 inspection of Tinsley House at Gatwick after its January 2023 reopening, covering the restored IRC regime and the use of the site for family detention.
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/19/2023/08/Tinsley-House-IRC-web-2023.pdfFind an immigration removal centre: Tinsley House, Gatwick
GOV.UK · 2025
Government overview of Tinsley House IRC at Gatwick Airport, including bedspaces for 119 men and family-detention units annexed to the centre.
https://www.gov.uk/immigration-removal-centre/tinsley-house-gatwickReport on an unannounced inspection of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre
HM Inspectorate of Prisons · Jul 2024
HMIP report on the February 2024 inspection of Harmondsworth IRC, describing the worst conditions ever seen in immigration detention, with decrepit accommodation, doubled assault rates and widespread drug use.
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/19/2024/07/Harmondsworth-IRC-web-2024.pdfHarmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre: drugs, despair and decrepit conditions
HM Inspectorate of Prisons · Jul 2024
HMIP press release summarising the February 2024 Harmondsworth inspection findings, framing the IRC as in the worst state inspectors had ever recorded.
https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/harmondsworth-immigration-removal-centre-drugs-despair-and-decrepit-conditions/Europe's largest immigration removal centre
GOV.UK · 2010
Home Office announcement marking the opening of two new wings at Harmondsworth in 2010, formally making the site the largest immigration removal centre in Europe with capacity for around 661 men.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/europes-largest-immigration-removal-centreReport on an unannounced inspection of Dungavel House IRC
HM Inspectorate of Prisons · 2025
HMIP report on the August-September 2025 inspection of Dungavel, recording good outcomes for detainees, weekly welfare checks for those held over six months, and improved physical condition of the centre.
https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/dungavel-house-irc/Find an immigration removal centre: Dungavel House, South Lanarkshire
GOV.UK · 2025
Government overview of Dungavel House IRC at Strathaven, South Lanarkshire (ML10 6RF), the only immigration removal centre in Scotland, run by Mitie Care and Custody for the Home Office.
https://www.gov.uk/immigration-removal-centre/dungavel-house-south-lanarkshireDungavel House Immigration Removal Centre
Hansard / UK Parliament · Mar 2023
House of Commons debate on Dungavel House IRC covering isolation, detention of vulnerable people including pregnant women, and the centre's 6-mile distance from the nearest public transport.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-03-20/debates/CAF31EED-C602-4A1D-A6C6-6938C8A475C4/DungavelHouseImmigrationRemovalCentreReport on an unannounced inspection of residential short-term holding facilities at Larne House, Manchester and Swinderby
HM Inspectorate of Prisons · Sep 2025
HMIP report on the July 2025 inspection of Larne House STHF in Northern Ireland alongside Manchester and Swinderby, finding the facilities calm and well managed with generally good outcomes.
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/19/2025/09/Larne-House-Manchester-Swinderby-RSTHFs-web-2025.pdfAnnual Report of the Short-term Holding Facilities in Scotland and Northern Ireland 2023-24
Independent Monitoring Board · Dec 2024
IMB annual report covering Larne House STHF, flagging the lack of separation between male and female residents and limited access to facilities at the only immigration holding site in Northern Ireland.
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/13/2024/12/Scotland-Northern-Ireland-STHF-IMB-2023-2024-annual-report.pdfFind an immigration removal centre: Larne House short term holding facility, Antrim
GOV.UK · 2025
Government overview of Larne House Short Term Holding Facility (BT40 1RU), the only purpose-built immigration detention site in Northern Ireland, with 19 places run by Mitie.
https://www.gov.uk/immigration-removal-centre/larne-house-antrimHigh Court refuses to extend temporary injunction sought by council over housing of asylum seekers in local hotel
Local Government Lawyer · Nov 2022
Reports Mr Justice Linden's 2 November 2022 refusal to extend Stoke-on-Trent City Council's without-notice interim injunction over the use of a city-centre hotel for asylum accommodation, finding that asylum use did not amount to a material change of use under planning control.
https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/52097-high-court-refuses-to-extend-temporary-injunction-sought-by-council-over-housing-of-asylum-seekers-in-local-hotelCity leaders strongly object to plans to use hotel for asylum seekers, and call on other parts of the UK to match its support
Stoke-on-Trent City Council · Oct 2022
Council statement objecting to Home Office plans to use the privately operated North Stafford Hotel for asylum dispersal accommodation without prior consultation with local authorities.
https://www.stoke.gov.uk/news/article/1148/city_leaders_strongly_object_to_plans_to_use_hotel_for_asylum_seekers_and_call_on_other_parts_of_the_uk_to_match_its_supportEnd Serco using hotels in Stoke-on-Trent to house migrants
Hansard / UK Parliament · Feb 2023
Westminster Hall debate led by Stoke MPs on the use by Serco of the North Stafford Hotel and the Best Western Stoke-on-Trent City Centre for asylum dispersal, with calls for the contracts to be wound down.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-02-21/debates/23022146000043/EndSercoUsingHotelsInStoke-On-TrentToHouseMigrantsAsylum Accommodation: Novotel Ipswich
Hansard / UK Parliament · Nov 2022
House of Commons debate on the use of the Novotel Ipswich for asylum accommodation, raised by Ipswich MP Tom Hunt, including references to the local injunction case and concerns about the impact on the town centre.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-11-08/debates/BBBF42D8-608D-48B4-BE33-066B60DF8ADA/AsylumAccommodationNovotelIpswichHigh Court refuses to extend interim injunctions stopping hotels from accommodating asylum seekers
Local Government Lawyer · Nov 2022
Reports Mr Justice Holgate's November 2022 ruling refusing to extend the interim injunctions obtained by Ipswich Borough Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council against the Home Office over hotels used for asylum accommodation, alongside the parallel Stoke-on-Trent case.
https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/52185-high-court-refuses-to-extend-interim-injunctions-stopping-hotels-from-accommodating-asylum-seekersCamber Pontins update 17.02.23
Camber Parish Council · Feb 2023
Parish Council statement of 17 February 2023 welcoming the Home Office decision to abandon plans to use Pontins Camber Sands as migrant accommodation, citing limited site access and insufficient public services. Quotes Rother District Council leader Doug Oliver describing the outcome as a sensible decision.
https://camberparishcouncil.gov.uk/camber-pontins-update-17-02-23/Council leader calls for an end to asylum seeker hotel contracts
Newcastle City Council · Aug 2025
Statement by Newcastle City Council leader Cllr Karen Kilgour opposing the use of city centre hotels for asylum accommodation and confirming the council is in active talks with the Home Office to end the contract.
https://new.newcastle.gov.uk/news/2025/council-leader-calls-end-asylum-seeker-hotel-contractsWhat is an asylum seeker and refugee and Halton's role
Halton Borough Council · 2024
Halton Council statement explaining that the location of asylum accommodation is a Home Office decision, that the Daresbury Hotel sits in Halton (not Warrington), and that any remaining residents at contract end were relocated outside the borough.
https://www3.halton.gov.uk/Pages/councildemocracy/refugees.aspxUpdate on Beresford Hotel, Newquay
Cornwall Council · Apr 2023
Cornwall Council confirms Home Office notification that the Beresford Hotel in Newquay would no longer be used for asylum accommodation, with the approximately 200 residents moved to alternative sites in the South East.
https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-news/communities-and-housing/more-communities-and-housing-news-stories/update-on-beresford-hotel-newquay/Team rallies to respond to Britannia Country House Hotel flooding
GTD Healthcare · Jan 2025
GTD Healthcare confirms its Asylum Seeker Contingency Service primary care team responded after the Britannia Country House Hotel flooded on New Year's Day 2025, with around 500 service users evacuated and on-site primary care resuming on 20 January 2025.
https://www.gtdhealthcare.co.uk/about-us/news/team-rallies-respond-britannia-country-house-hotel-floodingAn inspection of contingency asylum accommodation: HMIP report on Penally Camp and Napier Barracks
Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration / HM Inspectorate of Prisons · Jul 2021
Joint HMIP and ICIBI inspection report on Penally Camp and Napier Barracks. Found fundamental failures of leadership and planning by the Home Office and concluded that conditions at both sites were impoverished, run-down and unsuitable for long-term accommodation.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-inspection-of-contingency-asylum-accommodation-hmip-report-on-penally-camp-and-napier-barracksWritten Statement: Penally asylum accommodation - March update
Welsh Government (Jane Hutt MS, Deputy Minister and Chief Whip) · Mar 2021
Welsh Government welcomes the Home Office decision not to extend the use of Penally camp for asylum accommodation, citing concerns about the rural location, lack of specialist support, and inadequate Covid-19 compliance.
https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-penally-asylum-accommodation-march-updateAndrew Mitchell calls on Government to cease use of Ramada Hotel for asylum housing
Rt Hon Sir Andrew Mitchell MP (constituency office) · Jan 2025
Constituency record of Sir Andrew Mitchell MP calling on Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, to wind down the use of the Ramada Hotel on Penns Lane in Walmley for asylum housing, citing distance from inner-city Birmingham support services.
https://www.andrew-mitchell-mp.co.uk/parliament/andrew-mitchell-calls-government-cease-use-ramada-hotel-asylum-housingAsylum Hotels (Oral Answers to Questions, Home Department)
Hansard, House of Commons · 13 Jan 2025
Commons debate on Asylum Hotels in which Sir Andrew Mitchell MP raises the Ramada Penns Lane site and Dame Angela Eagle confirms the Government intends to close all asylum hotels as soon as possible once the inherited backlog is cleared.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-01-13/debates/7EA5295F-52AA-4AF6-AB13-DE4D1B7938F2/AsylumHotelsStatement regarding the Park Hotel in Diss
South Norfolk Council · 7 Aug 2025
Council leader Daniel Elmer confirms South Norfolk will not accept the Home Office plan to remove asylum-seeking families from the Park Hotel and replace them with single adult males, and indicates the council will use planning enforcement powers to require regularisation of any change of use.
https://www.southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk/news/statement-regarding-the-park-hotel-in-dissAsylum seekers to leave Park Hotel in Diss
South Norfolk Council · 22 Aug 2025
South Norfolk Council confirms the Home Office will cease using the Park Hotel for asylum accommodation following the council's refusal to accept a swap of families for single adult males and the hotel owners' threat of permanent closure.
https://www.southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk/news/asylum-seekers-to-leave-park-hotel-in-dissAnnex 1: Lessons Learnt from Hotel Accommodation for Asylum Seekers
City of York Council (Democracy) · 2021
Formal "Lessons Learnt" annex by City of York Council reviewing the use of the Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel on the A19 at Skelton to house 90 male asylum seekers from June 2020 to June 2021 under a Mears Group contract. The report records the storming of the hotel by anti-immigration protesters who filmed residents shortly after their arrival, the inadequate initial security measures that were later improved, the negative mental-health impact of weak hotel wifi on residents, and confusion and complaints over Mears Group confiscation of donated items.
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s158436/Annex%201.pdfCrewe asylum seeker hotel closed following partnership work
Cheshire Constabulary (Force News) · Apr 2026
Cheshire Constabulary force news release welcoming the closure of the Crewe Arms Hotel on Nantwich Road as Home Office asylum accommodation, citing an unacceptable number of crime and disorder incidents at the hotel and its immediate vicinity over the previous twelve months. The final resident left in April 2026 and the hotel reopens to the public on Monday 20 April 2026.
https://www.cheshire.police.uk/news/cheshire/news/articles/2026/4/crewe-asylum-seeker-hotel-closed-following-partnership-work/Officers appealing for information following disorder in Newton Heath on Wednesday
Greater Manchester Police · Jul 2024
Greater Manchester Police news release confirming the 31 July 2024 disorder outside the Holiday Inn asylum hotel on Oldham Road, Newton Heath, with two men arrested for violent disorder and assault of an emergency worker.
https://www.gmp.police.uk/news/greater-manchester/news/news/2024/july/officers-appealing-for-information-following-disorder-in-newton-heath-on-wednesday/Man charged following investigation into Newton Heath disorder
Greater Manchester Police · Aug 2024
Greater Manchester Police charging announcement confirming Joshua Stokes was charged with violent disorder and attempted ABH of a police officer following the 31 July 2024 disturbance outside the Holiday Inn asylum hotel in Newton Heath.
https://www.gmp.police.uk/news/greater-manchester/news/news/2024/july/man-charged-following-investigation-into-newton-heath-disorder/Factsheet: Manchester Airport Incident
Independent Office for Police Conduct · Aug 2024
IOPC factsheet referencing GMP's broader 2024 public order operations across Greater Manchester, including the District policing-led response to the planned protest outside the Holiday Inn hotel in Newton Heath which was housing asylum seekers.
https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Manchester-Airport-incident-factsheet-August-2024.pdfMigration Update in Leeds: supporting digital inclusion for migrant communities
100% Digital Leeds (Leeds City Council programme) · 2025
Leeds City Council digital inclusion programme report describing 2024 partnership work with the Horsforth Chaplaincy Project to deliver fifty smartphones, data SIM cards and a £5,000 INCLUDE+ research grant to asylum-seeking men resident at the Mercure Leeds Parkway Hotel. Confirms continuing 2024 to 2025 use of the hotel as Home Office asylum accommodation and notes the peripheral north-Leeds location leaves residents isolated from city-centre services.
https://digitalinclusionleeds.com/migration-update-in-leeds-2025FOISA Request — Planning and Safeguarding Oversight of Asylum Hotels (Learmonth and Piries)
City of Edinburgh Council (FOISA via WhatDoTheyKnow) · 2025
Freedom of Information request to City of Edinburgh Council seeking planning and material change of use records for the Learmonth and Piries hotels, plus correspondence with the Home Office and Mears Group on asylum accommodation. Confirms Piries Hotel at 4-8 Coates Gardens as a council-recognised asylum accommodation site.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/foisa_request_planning_and_safegAsylum Seekers: Support and Accommodation
Hansard, House of Commons · Oct 2025
In a Commons debate on asylum support and accommodation, a Nottingham MP described campaigns mounted outside the Britannia hotel in their constituency, pushing back against false claims that it was a five star hotel with a swimming pool and warning of intimidation by anti migrant organisers.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-10-20/debates/5B57404B-1EB6-4652-93C9-26B8F084AEFA/AsylumSeekersSupportAndAccommodationTriumph for Maggie as Asylum Accommodation Centre on Bostocks Lane set to close in July 2024
Maggie Throup MP (Erewash) · Mar 2024
Erewash MP Maggie Throup welcomed the Home Office decision to close the Novotel Asylum Accommodation Centre on Bostocks Lane in July 2024 after a sustained constituency campaign. Throup confirmed she would now press ministers to close the adjacent Best Western asylum hotel on the same road.
https://www.maggiethroup.com/news/triumph-maggie-asylum-accommodation-centre-bostocks-lane-set-close-july-2024In the matter of Best Western London Peckham Hotel, 110 Peckham Road
Planning Statement (Southwark application documents) · May 2024
Planning statement confirming the Best Western London Peckham Hotel at 110 Peckham Road has been used to accommodate asylum seekers under section 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, with single, double and family rooms with kitchenettes and communal dining.
https://docs.planning.org.uk/20240517/54/SDHBZ5KBHJE00/idkzkqfi8cg3r29d.pdfAsylum Seekers Accommodation (Freedom of Information disclosure)
Wokingham Borough Council · 2025
Wokingham Borough Council's published FOI page on asylum-seeker accommodation in the borough confirms that asylum-seeker hotel accommodation in Wokingham is concentrated at a single Home Office contracted hotel.
https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/foi/asylum-seekers-accommodationUpdate on asylum seekers staying in Folkestone
Damian Collins MP · 2023
Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins confirms the Southcliff Hotel was used as Home Office asylum accommodation and that the contract was ended in late 2023 with residents moved to other parts of the asylum estate.
https://damiancollins.com/update-on-asylum-seekers-staying-in-folkestone/Asylum accommodation (Portsmouth City Council)
Portsmouth City Council · 2025
Portsmouth City Council confirms the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea is the only asylum hotel in use in the city and is operated as family accommodation including young children.
https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/council-and-democracy/portsmouth-and-the-wider-community/be-informed/asylum-accommodation/Man, 35, jailed after being found guilty of violent disorder at Aldershot protest
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary · Oct 2025
Hampshire Police confirm a 35 year old man was jailed for violent disorder after a July 2024 anti-asylum protest at Potters International Hotel in Aldershot at which around 200 protesters gathered and objects were thrown at the hotel.
https://www.hampshire.police.uk/news/hampshire/news/news/2025/october-2025/man-35-jailed-after-being-found-guilty-of-violent-disorder-at-aldershot-protest/The Nayland Rock Hotel
Sir Roger Gale MP · 2007
North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale documents his opposition to the Home Office initiative converting the Nayland Rock into an open prison and deportation holding centre, noting the site's prior use as initial accommodation for newly arrived asylum seekers.
https://www.rogergale.com/copy-of-english-votes-for-english-mHigh Court dismisses Coventry City Council challenge to asylum dispersal policy
Local Government Lawyer · Nov 2025
Sectoral legal coverage of R (Coventry City Council) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 2929 (Admin), confirming the Home Office decision of 12 November 2024 to use the ibis Coventry South for asylum accommodation and the High Court ruling that the one in 200 dispersal ratio is planning guidance rather than a binding legal limit.
https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/99046-high-court-dismisses-coventry-city-council-challenge-to-asylum-dispersal-policyHigh Court rejects challenge to placement of asylum seekers in Coventry
Landmark Chambers · Nov 2025
Counsel case note for R (Coventry City Council) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 2929 (Admin), confirming Mr Justice Eyre rejected arguments that the Home Office breached legitimate expectations or equality duties when procuring additional asylum accommodation at the ibis Coventry South in November 2024.
https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/news-and-cases/cases/high-court-rejects-challenge-to-placement-of-asylum-seekers-in-coventryMan charged following sexual assault in Crewe
Cheshire Constabulary (Force News) · Sep 2025
Cheshire Constabulary force news release confirming Taha Derwish, 25, of Nantwich Road in Crewe, was charged with sexual touching following an incident outside the Royal Hotel involving a teenage girl, with remand to Chester Crown Court for trial.
https://www.cheshire.police.uk/news/cheshire/news/articles/2025/9/man-charged-following-sexual-assault-in-crewe/Asylum hotels close as government scales up use of large sites
Home Office (GOV.UK) · Apr 2026
Official Home Office press release announcing eleven asylum hotel closures including the Wool Merchant Hotel in Halifax and the Rock Hotel in Holywell Green in Calderdale, projected to save the taxpayer almost sixty-five million pounds a year.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asylum-hotels-close-as-government-scales-up-use-of-large-sitesAsylum seekers in York
City of York Council · 2022
Council page confirming the Home Office contractor Mears manages self-catering hotel accommodation in York for small family groups and couples, with twenty-four hour on-site security cover and a Home Office-funded welfare officer.
https://www.york.gov.uk/housing/asylum-seekers-yorkAsylum Seekers Accommodated in Hotels
Hansard (House of Commons) · Apr 2024
Hansard record of Toby Perkins MP raising the use of the Sandpiper Hotel in Chesterfield as asylum accommodation for almost two years and citing the North Derbyshire Refugee Support Group statement that no resident of the hotel had been returned to their country.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-04-15/debates/4D829057-7C0B-4839-8EEB-7AF8FCB12EA9/AsylumSeekersAccommodatedInHotelsStatement from Toby Perkins MP ahead of an anti-migrant protest scheduled for The Sandpiper Hotel on 28th September
Toby Perkins MP (Labour) · Sep 2025
Constituency MP statement appealing for calm ahead of the September 2025 anti migrant protest at the Sandpiper Hotel and confirming the site has accommodated asylum seekers for years under arrangements made by the previous government.
https://www.tobyperkins.org.uk/2025/09/18/statement-from-the-office-of-toby-perkins-mp-ahead-of-a-scheduled-anti-migrant-protest-scheduled-for-sandpiper-hotel-on-28th-september/Refugee Resettlement Progress Update
South Ribble Borough Council · 2024
South Ribble Borough Council committee paper recording the use of the Leyland Hotel as Home Office contingency accommodation managed by Serco.
https://southribble.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s34418/Refugee%20Resettlement%20Progress%20Update%20-%20Committee%20template.pdfFOI release 16686: Copthorne Hotel
Welsh Government · 2022
Welsh Government Freedom of Information disclosure confirming the Copthorne Hotel Cardiff at Culverhouse Cross was used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers.
https://www.gov.wales/atisn16686Sanctuary: Housing for refugees and asylum seekers
Welsh Government (Sanctuary) · 2024
Welsh Government sanctuary portal listing the ibis Cardiff alongside the Copthorne and Campanile as Cardiff hotels accommodating asylum seekers under the Clearsprings Ready Homes contract.
https://sanctuary.gov.wales/refugeesandasylumseekers/housingSanctuary: Housing (Holiday Inn Cardiff North M4 entry)
Welsh Government (Sanctuary) · 2023
Welsh Government sanctuary portal recording that the Holiday Inn Cardiff North M4 was closed to the public after being taken into Home Office immigration use under the Clearsprings Ready Homes contract.
https://sanctuary.gov.wales/refugeesandasylumseekers/housingAsylum: Temporary Accommodation, Written Question 108169
Hansard / UK Parliament · Dec 2022
Conservative MP Matthew Offord asks whether The Stay Club at 16-18 Charcot Road, Colindale, NW9 5WU has been designated as an officially sanctioned asylum hotel; Home Office Minister declines to confirm individual sites for safeguarding reasons.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2022-12-12.108169.hUpdate on Barnet Asylum Seeker Contingency Hotels
London Borough of Barnet, Community Leadership and Libraries Committee · Jun 2022
Barnet Council briefing on Home Office contingency asylum hotels in the borough including the Colindale Stay Club site, recording outreach support arrangements and committee concerns about consultation.
https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s72729/CES%207%20June%2022%20Asylum%20Hotels%20report%20cleared.pdfAgenda item: Heston Hyde Hotel, North Hyde Lane, Heston, Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow Licensing Sub-Committee · 2024
Hounslow Council licensing sub-committee agenda item recording that the Heston Hyde Hotel motel section has housed Home Office asylum seekers for several years and that the banqueting suites were earmarked by the Home Office for additional bedspaces.
https://democraticservices.hounslow.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=78858FOI ATISN 25049 disclosure on Holiday Inn Express Rhoose
Welsh Government · Aug 2025
Welsh Government Freedom of Information disclosure confirming the MoD selected the Holiday Inn Express Cardiff Airport for transitional Afghan ARAP accommodation and that residents are not asylum seekers but have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2025-08/atisn25049.pdfWeeton Barracks: Written Question 73595
Hansard / UK Parliament · Aug 2025
Hansard written question and Ministry of Defence answer confirming Weeton Barracks has been occupied by 1st Battalion The Lancashire Regiment since 2024, that only surplus Service Family Accommodation was used for the Afghan Relocation Programme, and that Afghan Entitled Persons were expected to vacate by the end of November 2025.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-08-29/73595Resettlement scheme for locally employed civilians in Afghanistan
House of Commons Library · 2025
Commons Library research briefing on the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), explaining that beneficiaries are granted indefinite leave to remain and are policy and operationally distinct from Home Office asylum dispersal.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9286/Insight Report: Accessing Health and Social Care Services: Asylum Seekers
Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire · Dec 2023
Healthwatch Leicester insight report confirms three Leicester hotels managed by Serco for asylum accommodation: the Grand Hotel (290 residents), the Highcross Hotel (275 men) and the Aparthotel Adagio Leicester (156 families, men and women).
https://healthwatchll.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Healthwatch-Leicester-Insight-report-Asylum-Seekers-2.pdfThe Population Seeking Asylum in Leicester City: JSNA
Leicester City Council · 2024
Leicester City Council Joint Strategic Needs Assessment confirms the Aparthotel Adagio at Great Central Square is one of the Home Office contingency hotels housing asylum seekers in the city under Serco.
https://www.leicester.gov.uk/media/laqplw3r/population-seeking-asylum-leicester-2024-jsna.pdfSetting out the facts on immigration and asylum seeking in Worcester
Worcester City Council · 2023
Worcester City Council statement confirming the Fownes Hotel was in Home Office contingency asylum use and addressing planning, council and policing arrangements around the site.
https://www.worcester.gov.uk/news/setting-out-the-facts-on-immigration-and-asylum-seeking-in-worcesterFAQ: People seeking asylum in Wigan
Wigan Council · Sep 2023
Wigan Council FAQ confirming the borough was hosting asylum seekers in two contingency hotels (the Britannia at Almond Brook and Kilhey Court) under contracts held by Serco for the Home Office.
https://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Articles/2023/Sept/FAQ-People-seeking-asylum.aspxCovid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers
Hansard, House of Commons · Jun 2020
Hansard debate of 29 June 2020 on Covid 19 support and accommodation for asylum seekers, in which the death of Adnan Walid Elbi at McLays Guest House in Glasgow on 5 May 2020 was raised after Mears moved hundreds of people off cash support and into hotels.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-06-29/debates/2E3382AE-74D6-4D20-BED3-AF5C665ED39F/Covid-19SupportAndAccommodationForAsylumSeekersEleven asylum hotels to close as Government delivers on plan to end the use of asylum hotels
GOV.UK Home Office · Apr 2026
GOV.UK announcement of eleven asylum hotels closing in April 2026, including the Banbury House Hotel in Oxfordshire and the Rock Hotel in Halifax, as part of the wider plan to end asylum hotel use.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/eleven-asylum-hotels-to-close-as-government-delivers-on-plan-to-end-the-use-of-asylum-hotelsAsylum Seeker Accommodation Off Wirral Peninsula
Hansard, House of Commons · May 2023
Hansard adjournment debate of 25 May 2023 in which Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley raised the use of the former Holiday Inn Express at Kings Gap, Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula for Home Office asylum accommodation under Serco.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-05-25/debates/F673CB4C-A6EF-4F31-A830-9CFC76744C9F/AsylumSeekerAccommodationOffWirralPeninsulaAsylum hotels close as government scales up use of large sites
GOV.UK (Home Office) · Apr 2026
Home Office announcement listing eleven asylum hotels closed in April 2026 including the OYO Lakeside in St Helens, the Britannia Hotel Wolverhampton, the Madeley Court Hotel and the Marine Court Hotel in Bangor, with the total number of asylum hotels falling below 190.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asylum-hotels-close-as-government-scales-up-use-of-large-sitesDon't Be Misled. Be Informed.
St Helens Borough Council · Feb 2026
St Helens Borough Council confirms the Home Office informed it in early February 2026 that the OYO Lakeside Hotel asylum contract would end before the end of April 2026, and rebuts misinformation circulating online about the borough's only Home Office asylum site.
https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/13952/Don-t-Be-Misled-Be-InformedCouncil Leader reacts to Cumbria Park Hotel asylum news
Cumbria County Council · 2021
Cumbria County Council statement from then Council Leader publicly condemning the Home Office decision to use the Cumbria Park Hotel in Carleton, Carlisle for asylum accommodation, while accepting that asylum seekers have a legal right to seek refuge in the UK.
https://news.cumbria.gov.uk/News/2021/councilleaderreactstocumbriaparkhotelasylumnews.aspxAsylum Seekers Contingency Accommodation: Belfast
Hansard, House of Commons · Nov 2022
Hansard debate of 22 November 2022 on asylum seekers in contingency accommodation in Belfast, raising that around 15 per cent of Belfast hotel rooms had been block booked for asylum use under the Home Office contract held by Mears, with concerns about transparency and pressure on city centre hotels.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-11-22/debates/4FA43319-579E-4292-A19F-9653D1A55375/AsylumSeekersContingencyAccommodationBelfastQ+A on the Home Office decision to house asylum seekers in the Mercure Hotel outside Dumfries
Dumfries and Galloway Council · Aug 2023
Dumfries and Galloway Council Q+A confirms 61 single male asylum seekers were placed in the Mercure Cargenholm House Hotel outside Dumfries from August 2023 under a Home Office contract held by Mears Group, with 24 hour security and Police Scotland support arrangements in place.
https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/26940/Q-A-on-the-Home-Office-decision-to-house-asylum-seekers-in-the-Mercure-Hotel-outside-Dumfries26-0723 Asylum Seeker Hotel Crime Stats Accused Resident Mercure Cargenholm House and Station Hotel Dumfries
Police Scotland · Apr 2026
Police Scotland disclosure log entry FOI 26-0723 publishes crime statistics for residents of the Mercure Cargenholm House asylum hotel and the Station Hotel Dumfries, released April 2026 in response to a public request.
https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2026/april/26-0723-asylum-seeker-hotel-crime-stats-accused-resident-mercure-cargenholm-house-station-hotel-dumfries-2020-td/Police Scotland Freedom of Information response 25-3152: Cladhan Hotel Falkirk demonstrations
Police Scotland · Dec 2025
Police Scotland FOI response 25-3152 confirming 13 arrests, 37 alleged crimes and ongoing dedicated public order deployment costs at protests outside the Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk between August and December 2025.
https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/Aberdeenshire Council briefing: Hampton by Hilton Westhill asylum accommodation
Aberdeenshire Council · 2025
Aberdeenshire Council briefing confirming the Hampton by Hilton Westhill (AB32 6JL) was used for Home Office contingency asylum accommodation under Mears Scotland and detailing council engagement on community impact and policing.
https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/asylum-accommodation-briefing/MK Hotel, Buckingham Road, Deanshanger, Milton Keynes, MK19 6JU: CAM/00MG/HMD/2022/0001
GOV.UK / First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) · 2022
First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber decision in CAM/00MG/HMD/2022/0001 covering the MK Hotel at Buckingham Road, Deanshanger, MK19 6JU, under the Housing Act 2004 and Housing and Planning Act 2016 in the context of houses in multiple occupation licensing while the property has been operated as accommodation rather than a conventional hotel.
https://www.gov.uk/residential-property-tribunal-decisions/mk-hotel-buckingham-road-deanshanger-milton-keynes-mk19-6ju-cam-slash-00mg-slash-hmd-slash-2022-slash-0001Appeal Decision 3352092: Dunchurch Park Hotel cabins (Rugby Borough Council)
Planning Inspectorate (GOV.UK) · Jul 2023
Planning Inspectorate appeal decision allowing 40 cabins at Dunchurch Park Hotel for asylum-seeker accommodation for up to 18 months from 31 July 2023, with subsequent variation in 2024 to allow continuation.
https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewDocument.aspx?fileid=60871747FOI Request: Asylum Seekers Information at Eight Acres
Moray Council · 2023
Moray Council Freedom of Information response confirming the Eight Acres Hotel as the contingency asylum accommodation site in the Council area, run by Mears Property and Care Providers under Home Office contract, with the local authority having no direct responsibility for the contingency hotel or its asylum guests.
http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_148361.htmlTransition accommodation statement following Epping High Court ruling
Bracknell Forest Council · Aug 2025
Bracknell Forest Council statement confirming the Grange Hotel is run by the Ministry of Defence as transition accommodation for Afghan families with indefinite leave to remain who arrived via the ARAP and ACRS schemes, with maximum stay of nine months while families find longer-term private accommodation.
https://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/news/2025/08/transition-accommodation-statement-following-epping-high-court-rulingHome Office accommodation for asylum seekers in Stratford-upon-Avon
Warwickshire County Council · 2022
Warwickshire County Council statement confirming Home Office contingency accommodation use of the Grosvenor Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, with the Council and Stratford District Council coordinating welfare support for residents alongside volunteer groups.
https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/3248/home-office-accommodation-for-asylum-seekers-in-stratford-upon-avonFOI: Refugee/Asylum seekers housed in the Arora Hotel
Crawley Borough Council (WhatDoTheyKnow FOI) · 2024
Freedom of Information request to Crawley Borough Council confirming the council is aware of the use of the Arora Hotel Gatwick at Tilgate (RH10 6TX) for Home Office asylum accommodation, with the council holding records of liaison meetings with Home Office contractors.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/refugeeasylum_seekers_housed_inAsylum Seeker Accommodation debate, House of Commons
Hansard (UK Parliament) · Nov 2023
Hansard record of the November 2023 House of Commons debate on asylum accommodation, in which MPs named hotels including Chelmsford sites such as the Best Western Atlantic Hotel in city debates around school place pressure and contingency hotel use.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-11-27/debates/12AB9549-B295-4B0A-9390-8D2148FF4231/AsylumSeekerAccommodationFOI release: Immigrant housing and accommodation in Scotland
Scottish Government FOI · 2024
Scottish Government FOI release covering immigrant housing in Scotland that includes correspondence and contingency planning for Mears Scotland sites, with subsequent press reporting confirming the Station Hotel Dumfries among them.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202300382036/Council advised that hotel will be used to accommodate asylum seekers
Trafford Council · Feb 2023
Trafford Council confirmed it had been advised that the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale would be used by the Home Office to accommodate asylum seekers from 1 February 2023.
https://www.trafford.gov.uk/residents/news/articles/2023/20230201-Council-advised-that-hotel-will-be-used-to-accommodate-asylum-seekers.aspxHome Office agrees to end use of the Delta Marriott Hotel
Borough of Broxbourne Council · 2026
Broxbourne Borough Council confirms the Home Office will end use of the Delta Marriott Hotel in Cheshunt for asylum seeker accommodation from mid-June 2026, more than three years after the arrangement began in December 2022.
https://www.broxbourne.gov.uk/news/article/422/home-office-agrees-to-end-use-of-the-delta-marriott-hotelDelta Marriott Hotel: Statement on Asylum Seekers
Borough of Broxbourne Council · 2024
Broxbourne Borough Council statement opposing the use of the Delta Marriott Hotel in Cheshunt to house asylum seekers, citing the loss of a community asset and strain on stretched public services.
https://www.broxbourne.gov.uk/news/article/393/delta-marriott-hotelClosure of the Asylum Hotel in Cheshunt
Lewis Cocking MP · 2026
Broxbourne MP Lewis Cocking welcomes the Home Office decision to end use of the Delta Marriott Hotel for asylum seeker accommodation from mid-June 2026.
https://www.lewiscocking.uk/news/closure-asylum-hotel-cheshuntHome Office use of the asylum seekers hotel
South Cambridgeshire District Council · 2025
South Cambridgeshire District Council confirmed the Home Office used the Best Western Cambridge Bar Hill Hotel as asylum accommodation from 2023 to 2025, with a maximum of 272 asylum seekers and arrangements managed by Serco.
https://www.scambs.gov.uk/community-and-people/home-office-use-of-the-asylum-seekers-hotelRefugee Resettlement and Migration Service
Wiltshire Council · 2025
Wiltshire Council confirms it actively supports the Afghan Resettlement Programme launched in December 2024, including providing resettlement, integration and support services for Afghans housed at MOD sites in the county.
https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/1026/Refugee-Resettlement-and-Migration-ServiceUK immigration schemes for Afghan nationals
House of Commons Library · Dec 2024
House of Commons Library research briefing on UK immigration schemes for Afghan nationals, covering ARAP and ACRS schemes and the December 2024 launch of the unified Afghan Resettlement Programme.
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9307/CBP-9307.pdf25-0553 Incident stats Cairn Hotel Bathgate (asylum seekers) 12 months
Police Scotland · Mar 2025
Police Scotland Freedom of Information disclosure log records calls for service at the Cairn Hotel, Bathgate over a 12 month period in its capacity as asylum accommodation.
https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2025/march/25-0553-incident-stats-cairn-hotel-bathgate-asylum-seekers-12mths/Immigrant housing and accommodation: FOI release
Scottish Government · Oct 2023
Scottish Government FOI release confirms 288 people seeking asylum were accommodated by the Home Office at three hotels in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire as of 18 October 2023.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202300382036/Refugees: Chimney House Hotel Written Question
Hansard / UK Parliament · Oct 2020
Parliamentary Written Question and Home Office answer regarding the Chimney House Hotel in Sandbach being used as contingency asylum accommodation, with reference to the cessation plan to reduce numbers in hotels.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2020-09-29.96847.hQ. Refugees: Chimney House Hotel
Parallel Parliament · Oct 2020
Parallel Parliament record of the parliamentary written question on the Chimney House Hotel in Sandbach being used to house asylum seekers, including the Home Office response.
https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/question/96847/refugees-chimney-house-hotelMims Davies MP on housing asylum seekers at Copthorne Hotel
Mims Davies MP · 2024
East Grinstead and Uckfield MP Mims Davies states the Copthorne hotel houses more asylum seekers than the whole of Surrey and takes more than half of all those in Sussex, calling for the site to be returned to commercial use.
https://www.eastgrinsteadanduckfieldconservatives.org.uk/news/mims-davies-mp-housing-asylum-seekers-copthorne-hotelStatement on policing of asylum hotel in Warwick
Warwickshire Police · Dec 2024
Warwickshire Police force statement on the policing arrangements for the Delta Hotel on Stratford Road, Warwick after the announcement that the site would be used for asylum accommodation.
https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/news/warwickshire/news/2024/december/statement-on-policing-of-asylum-hotel-in-warwick-district/Statement about current challenges within the asylum system
Warwick District Council · Dec 2024
Warwick District Council statement noting it has no role in placement of asylum seekers and that it is advised by the Home Office once they have commissioned hotels, in the context of the Delta Hotel becoming asylum accommodation.
https://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/news/article/1251/statement_about_current_challenges_within_the_asylum_systemCouncil responds to announcement that Kidderminster Hotel to house asylum seekers
Bewdley Town Council · Mar 2022
Bewdley Town Council statement that the Home Office informed Wyre Forest District Council it would arrange the Heath Hotel for asylum accommodation from 21 March 2022, with the council not consulted on the decision.
https://bewdleytowncouncil.gov.uk/news/council-responds-to-announcement-that-kidderminster-hotel-to-house-asylum-seekersMP View: Meeting with local Police to discuss online unrest around migrant hotels
Mark Garnier MP · 2024
Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier writes about meetings with West Mercia Police regarding the Heath Hotel in Bewdley and other asylum-seeker hotels in his constituency, including online unrest in summer 2024.
https://www.markgarnier.co.uk/news/mp-view-meeting-local-police-discuss-online-unrest-around-migrant-hotelsBurton upon Trent partners respond to the Home Office decision to disperse asylum seekers locally
East Staffordshire Borough Council · Nov 2021
East Staffordshire Borough Council statement confirming partner agency response to the Home Office decision to disperse asylum seekers to the Mercure Newton Park hotel in Newton Solney.
https://www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk/es-news/burton-upon-trent-partners-respond-home-office%E2%80%99s-decision-disperse-asylum-seekers-locallyHealth of asylum seekers and refugees placed in a Reading hotel during the pandemic
Healthwatch Reading · Nov 2020
Healthwatch Reading visited the George Hotel four times during the pandemic and spoke to 43 of approximately 80 asylum seekers and refugees the Home Office had placed there since March 2020, documenting GP registration delays and stopped allowances.
https://nds.healthwatch.co.uk/reports-library/health-asylum-seekers-and-refugees-placed-reading-hotel-during-pandemicHome Office housing of asylum seekers in Welwyn Hatfield (2020 to 2025)
Home Office (FOI via WhatDoTheyKnow) · 2025
Freedom of Information request to the Home Office covering asylum-seeker placements in Welwyn Hatfield 2020 to 2025 referencing the Mercure Hatfield Oak among other contingency hotels.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/home_office_housing_of_asylum_se?unfold=1Q. Asylum: Welwyn Hatfield
Parliamentary Question (parallelparliament.co.uk) · 2024
Parliamentary written question on asylum-seeker numbers in Welwyn Hatfield, Hertfordshire, naming hotel-based accommodation under the Home Office contingency programme.
https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/question/92084/asylum-welwyn-hatfieldJoint statement: removal of Asylum hotel guests
Haringey Council · Dec 2022
Haringey Council joint statement on the removal of asylum-seeker guests from the National Hotel in Muswell Hill to Napier Barracks, condemning the absence of consultation.
https://www.haringey.gov.uk/news/joint-statement-removal-asylum-hotel-guestsAfghan Relocations and Assistance Scheme in Shropshire
Shropshire Council · 2024
Shropshire Council confirms Nesscliffe Training Area is being used as transitional accommodation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, with people expected to stay up to six weeks before moving to settled housing.
https://next.shropshire.gov.uk/resettlement-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-scheme-in-shropshire/Hitchin MP opposes housing asylum seekers at Needham House Hotel
Bim Afolami MP / The Comet · 2023
Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami publicly opposed the Home Office decision to house asylum seekers at the Needham House Hotel in Little Wymondley, citing concerns about the rural location and limited infrastructure.
https://www.bimafolami.co.uk/news/hitchin-mp-opposes-housing-asylum-seekers-needham-house-hotel-cometAsylum Seekers Briefing: 32 asylum seekers housed in Portstewart hotel
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council · Jan 2023
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council asylum-seeker briefing confirming 32 asylum seekers were temporarily housed in the Rambler Inn (run by OYO) in Portstewart under Home Office contingency arrangements, with 45 places available.
https://causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk/uploads/general/230117_LD_Item_15_-_Asylum_Seeker_Briefing.pdfAsylum seekers Rowton Hotel, Birmingham: Review the accommodation to be moved
UK Government and Parliament Petitions · 2024
Archived UK Government and Parliament petition calling for the Home Office to review and move asylum-seeker accommodation at the Rowton Hotel in Birmingham.
https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/640755Asylum Seeker Accommodation: South Dorset
Hansard, UK Parliament · Apr 2023
House of Commons debate on asylum seeker accommodation in South Dorset, including discussion of MoD-managed sites in the constituency that became operational later in 2023.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-04-26/debates/20E08728-A88C-4902-8905-A9EEAA56A20A/AsylumSeekerAccommodationSouthDorsetIBIS Hotel — Freedom of Information request to Home Office
WhatDoTheyKnow / Home Office · 2022
WhatDoTheyKnow Home Office FOI confirms the Ibis Budget on Birchanger Lane, Bishops Stortford, has been used to accommodate Afghan refugees, with FOI correspondence noting requests for shuttle bus services to local supermarkets and the Baptist Church.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ibis_hotelAPP/22/01848 Grove House Hotel, 45 Grove Road, Wallasey: Planning Committee report
Wirral Borough Council · Jun 2023
Wirral Council planning committee report on application APP/22/01848 for retrospective change of use from hotel (C1) to hostel (Sui Generis) at 45 Grove Road Wallasey, providing 18 bedrooms for 36 months for asylum seekers; the application was approved 29 June 2023.
https://wirral.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s50103725/APP.22.01848%20-%20Grove%20House%20Hotel%20RPT%20-%20Final.pdfFuture Use of Wheatridge Court: Cabinet Report 3 December 2025
Gloucestershire County Council · Dec 2025
Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet report on the future use of Wheatridge Court confirming the site has been used to help 116 refugees granted leave to remain into longer term accommodation since December 2023, with a one year contract proposed plus optional one year extension to remain responsive to migration patterns.
https://gloucestershire.moderngov.co.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=113926Questions raised by residents of Winford Parish about the use of Winford Manor as accommodation for asylum seekers
Winford Parish Council · Sep 2022
Winford Parish Council records the September 2022 parish meeting at which 56 residents raised concerns about the lack of community consultation and planning permissions before the Home Office began using Winford Manor as asylum accommodation, with topics including safety, schooling, healthcare and access to services.
https://www.winfordpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Questions-raised-by-residents-of-Winford-Parish-about-the-use-of-Winford-Manor-as-accommodation-for-asylum-seekers.pdfAsylum hotels close as government scales up use of large sites
GOV.UK / Home Office · Apr 2026
GOV.UK announcement names The Rock Hotel in Holywell Green among eleven asylum hotels closed by April 2026 under the wider hotel exit programme, returning the site to community use and contributing to projected savings of nearly £65 million per year.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asylum-hotels-close-as-government-scales-up-use-of-large-sitesConservatives call for review of Witney hotel asylum use
West Oxfordshire Conservatives · Aug 2025
West Oxfordshire Conservatives publish a letter from Cllr Michele Mead and Cllr Liam Walker calling on West Oxfordshire District Council to seek injunctive relief to prevent the ongoing use of the Witney Four Pillars hotel for asylum accommodation, citing the Epping Forest Bell Hotel injunction precedent.
https://www.witneyconservatives.com/news/conservatives-call-review-witney-hotel-asylum-useOpen joint letter to the Home Secretary
Epping Forest District Council · Aug 2025
EFDC publishes the joint open letter signed by five Essex political leaders calling for an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary over the continued use of the Bell Hotel in Epping and Phoenix Hotel in North Weald to house newly arrived asylum seekers, citing community distress after fires at both sites.
https://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/open-joint-letter-to-the-home-secretary/Phoenix Hotel and Bell Hotel: Joint Statement from Alex Burghart MP and Neil Hudson MP
Alex Burghart MP · 2025
Joint statement from Brentwood and Ongar MP Alex Burghart and Epping Forest MP Neil Hudson calling on the Home Office to end the use of the Phoenix Hotel and the Bell Hotel as asylum accommodation, citing community distress and infrastructure pressures.
https://www.alexburghart.org.uk/news/phoenix-hotel-and-bell-hotel-joint-statement-alex-burghart-mp-and-neil-hudson-mpSharnbrook Hotel to Stop Housing Asylum Seekers
Richard Fuller MP (North East Bedfordshire) · 2026
Richard Fuller MP confirms the Home Office has written to him to terminate the contract with the Sharnbrook Hotel for asylum accommodation, with the site expected to cease that use by mid-June 2026.
https://www.richardfuller.co.uk/news/sharnbrook-hotel-stop-housing-asylum-seekersAsylum Accommodation: Hotels (Hansard, 3 July 2023)
Hansard / UK Parliament · Jul 2023
Hansard records praise for the Sharnbrook community, Rev Paolo Di Leo and Cllr Doug McMurdo for providing a welcoming environment to people housed at the Sharnbrook asylum hotel, with calls in the same debate for a reduction in the use of hotels for asylum accommodation.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-07-03/debates/982F001D-C31A-42EA-A06B-6CC1E81A5601/AsylumAccommodationHotelsUpdate on Barnet's Asylum Seeker Contingency Hotels
London Borough of Barnet (Communities Committee) · Jun 2022
London Borough of Barnet Communities, Engagement and Strategy Committee June 2022 update on the borough's asylum-seeker contingency hotels, naming the Palm Hotel on Hendon Way among the borough's contingency sites and detailing council coordination of voluntary support since early 2021.
https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s72729/CES%207%20June%2022%20Asylum%20Hotels%20report%20cleared.pdfPlanning application: Palm Hotel, 64-76 Hendon Way
London Borough of Barnet (Planning) · 2021
London Borough of Barnet planning portal listing for the Palm Hotel at 64 to 76 Hendon Way, NW2, the Best Western branded site formerly known as the Garth Hotel, identifying the building as the Palm Hotel and confirming its status during the asylum-contingency period.
https://docs.planning.org.uk/20211207/78/R3HXC4JIFQX00/7j6cpd9wqlz0919f.pdfResettlement support for Afghan families that served alongside UK armed forces and government
Central Bedfordshire Council · 2024
Central Bedfordshire Council confirms it has approved Home Office funded resettlement support for Afghan families to be housed at RAF Henlow under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy for up to three years at zero cost to the council.
https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/news/article/1088/weve_approved_resettlement_support_for_afghan_families_that_served_alongside_uk_armed_forces_and_governmentUK immigration schemes for Afghan nationals
House of Commons Library · 2025
House of Commons Library briefing on UK immigration schemes for Afghan nationals, detailing the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; both schemes were closed to new applicants on 1 July 2025.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9307/Asylum: Hotels - Parliamentary Question on Ramada Solihull
Parallel Parliament / UK Parliament · 2024
Parliamentary Question record confirms the Home Office holds a commercial agreement with the Subhash Gulati Group for asylum-seeker use of the Ramada Hotel at The Square in Solihull, B91 3RF, under the Serco regional asylum accommodation contract.
https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/question/45239/asylum-hotelsOn hold: the lived experiences of asylum seekers in Hounslow's contingency hotels
Hounslow Council / Healthwatch Hounslow · 2024
Hounslow Council and Healthwatch Hounslow joint report on the lived experiences of asylum seekers in the borough's contingency hotels, naming the St Giles Hotel in Feltham among the cluster of designated sites and documenting cramped rooms, food complaints and limited outdoor space across the cohort.
https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/4194/on_hold_the_lived_experiences_of_asylum_seekers_in_hounslow_s_contingency_hotels.pdfA statement regarding the TLK building in St Mary Cray
London Borough of Bromley · Aug 2025
London Borough of Bromley official statement confirming the TLK building in St Mary Cray High Street has been used for two years as a Central Government funded asylum hostel, currently occupied by children, women and families only in temporary accommodation while immigration claims are processed.
https://www.bromley.gov.uk/news/article/872/a-statement-regarding-the-tlk-building-in-st-mary-crayThe Home Office's asylum accommodation contracts (Midlands and East England)
National Audit Office · May 2025
NAO confirms the Midlands and East England (MEE) asylum accommodation contract is held by Serco; Chelmsford falls within the MEE region, indicating King William Court Apartments operate under Serco subcontracted dispersal accommodation.
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/home-offices-asylum-accommodation-contracts.pdfThe Limes letter to residents (Brent Lane, Dartford)
Kent County Council · Jan 2024
Kent County Council letter to residents confirming The Limes on Brent Lane, Dartford, will be repurposed as Ofsted-registered supported accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. KCC stated provision is wholly funded by central government and does not present an additional burden on Kent taxpayers; rooms are temporary while children await National Transfer Scheme placement to other local authorities.
https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/199335/The-Limes-letter-to-residents-19-January-2024.pdfBurrows Court, Windmill Lane, Nottingham planning report
Nottingham City Council · 2017
Nottingham City Council planning committee report on the Burrows Court tower block at Windmill Lane in Sneinton documenting the building decommissioned condition prior to its 2021 refurbishment and the consent framework for its return to residential use.
https://committee.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/documents/s132986/1700648PFUL3%20Burrows%20Court.pdfArrigadeen Nursing Home
Care Quality Commission · 2022
Care Quality Commission record for Arrigadeen Nursing Home Limited at 20 Cambridge Road, Clevedon BS21 7HX, confirming the property prior registration as a CQC regulated nursing home before its closure and conversion to asylum HMO use.
https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-115198329Manchester Road, Huddersfield: factsheet
Home Office (GOV.UK) · May 2024
Official Home Office factsheet on the Manchester Road, Huddersfield asylum accommodation site, confirming the former student flats will accommodate around 670 asylum seekers when fully operational under a contracted asylum accommodation provider on behalf of the Home Office.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-manchester-road-huddersfield/manchester-road-huddersfield-factsheetLaverstoke Court change of use planning application
Derby City Council · 2017
Derby City Council planning committee documentation for the proposed change of use of Laverstoke Court from student accommodation to a 240 place initial accommodation centre for asylum seekers operated by Urban Housing Services on behalf of G4S.
https://docs.derby.gov.uk/padocumentserver/DownloadDocument.aspx?docid=91806386Kingsbury Court Old Palace Lodge Hotel — Grade II listing entry 1114582
Historic England · List entry
Historic England Grade II listing entry 1114582 for Kingsbury Court Old Palace Lodge Hotel on Church Street, Dunstable, recording the building's historic status and listed protection.
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1114582Further clarification on the Old Palace Lodge
Andrew Selous MP (South West Bedfordshire) · Jan 2023
Andrew Selous MP confirms the Home Office first approached him about the Old Palace Lodge on 15 December 2022, with the hotel identified as a site to accommodate asylum seekers under contingency arrangements, and that he had pressed the department on local consultation and the timing of the move.
https://www.andrewselous.org.uk/news/further-clarification-old-palace-lodgeAlternative Spending Comparisons
Unit Costs of Health & Social Care 2023
PSSRU / YHEC · Dec 2023
£200 per NHS GP appointment (10-15 min surgery consultation).
https://www.pssru.ac.uk/project-pages/unit-costs/unit-costs-of-health-and-social-care-2023/Paediatric Cancer Treatment Costs
NHS Specialised Commissioning · 2024
£50,000 per full paediatric cancer treatment course (chemotherapy + support).
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/Children with cancer statistics
Cancer Research UK & NHS England · 2024
Approximately 4,000 children diagnosed with cancer annually in the UK.
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statisticsNHS Band 5 Nurse Annual Costs (Fully Loaded)
NHS Employers · 2024
£98,000 per nurse annually including salary, pension, NI, and training.
https://www.nhsemployers.org/pay-pensions-and-rewardAverage House Building Costs UK
ONS Construction Industry Statistics · 2025
£250,000 average cost to build a house in the UK.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/constructionindustryUK Homelessness Statistics
Crisis & Shelter · 2024
309,000 people currently homeless across England.
https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/homelessness-monitor/NHS Waiting Lists
NHS England Statistics · Sep 2025
7.6 million patients waiting for routine surgery and treatment.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/Local & Regional Coverage
Tensions rise as rival protests held outside Bournemouth hotel
Dorset View · Aug 2025
Rival pro- and counter-protests on 22 August 2025 outside the Britannia Hotel on Meyrick Road, Bournemouth, over its reported use as asylum accommodation. Article hedges direct confirmation, noting the outlet was unable to verify the hotel’s current use.
https://dorsetview.co.uk/tensions-rise-as-rival-protests-held-outside-bournemouth-hotel/Hotels in Bournemouth: Fury over three hotels near beach used to house migrants
NationalWorld · Aug 2025
Names the 79-room Chine Hotel on Boscombe Spa Road as one of three Bournemouth hotels taken over by the Home Office for asylum accommodation and closed to the paying public for more than a year.
https://www.nationalworld.com/news/uk/hotels-in-bournemouth-fury-over-three-hotels-near-beach-used-to-house-migrants-5262674Young male asylum seekers: arrests in Bournemouth
GB News · Aug 2025
Names the Chine Hotel in 2025 coverage of criminal charges recorded against people staying at three Bournemouth asylum hotels.
https://www.gbnews.com/politics/nigel-farage-migrant-crisis-asylum-seeker-arrests-bournemouthUK Government Plans to Close All Asylum Hotels Before Election, Leaving Migrants Facing Possible Eviction
IBTimes UK · Apr 2026
National coverage of the 11-hotel closure round, naming the Citrus Hotel in Cheltenham alongside ten other sites and setting out the government’s transition to larger, more basic facilities.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/uk-government-closes-asylum-hotels-1791795‘Bristol Patriots’ once again hugely outnumbered by counter-protesters
Bristol 247 · Sep 2025
Identifies the Hampton by Hilton on Bond Street as the Bristol hotel targeted by anti-migrant protests in September 2025 and the location where counter-protesters substantially outnumbered them.
https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/bristol-patriots-once-again-hugely-outnumbered-counter-protesters/‘A long-established place of sanctuary’: Bristol refuses to join revolt over asylum seeker hotels
ITV News West Country · Aug 2025
Sets out Bristol City Council’s refusal to campaign against the continued use of asylum hotels in the city and provides national context on hotel-based asylum accommodation in Bristol.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2025-08-21/bristol-city-council-refuses-to-join-revolt-over-asylum-seeker-hotelsCouncil threatens Home Office with judicial review after third hotel used to house asylum seekers
Local Government Lawyer · Nov 2022
Reports Torbay Council’s second pre-proceedings letter threatening judicial review of the Home Office decision and records that use of the third Torquay hotel was being paused while a Home Office decision was awaited.
https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/52244-council-threatens-home-office-with-judicial-review-after-third-hotel-used-to-house-asylum-seekersFirst asylum seekers moved into Crowborough Army Camp amid pressure to end hotel use
ITV News Meridian · Jan 2026
ITV report confirming the arrival of the first asylum seekers at Crowborough Army Camp in East Sussex in January 2026 and placing the opening in the context of the wider policy of moving asylum seekers out of hotels.
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-01-21/council-confirms-home-office-to-open-army-camp-as-temporary-asylum-seeker-siteHome Office ‘wasted’ £15m of taxpayers’ cash on asbestos-filled migrant camp
Express & Star · Nov 2024
Reports that £15 million of public money was spent acquiring the Northeye site near Bexhill for asylum accommodation before it was abandoned as unsuitable.
https://www.expressandstar.com/uk-news/2024/11/15/home-office-wasted-15m-of-taxpayers-cash-on-asbestos-filled-migrant-camp/Hundreds of asylum seekers moved off Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge
STV News · 2024
Reports the end of the Bibby Stockholm barge as asylum accommodation after roughly 18 months, including incidents of legionella contamination in the water supply and a death by suicide on board.
https://news.stv.tv/world/hundreds-of-asylum-seekers-moved-off-bibby-stockholm-accommodation-bargeAsylum seekers’ move to Inverness barracks faces delay over £1.3m refurbishment
STV News · 2025
Reports £300,000 plus ~£1 million in refurbishment contracts at Cameron Barracks, with the larger redecoration contract not due to complete until April 2026.
https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/asylum-seekers-move-to-inverness-barracks-faces-delay-over-1-3m-refurbishmentNapier Barracks: "Squalid" asylum site unlawful, High Court rules
BBC News · Jun 2021
BBC report on the June 2021 High Court ruling that conditions at Napier Barracks were unlawful, citing a serious Covid outbreak and substandard fire safety. The judgment by Mr Justice Linden found the Home Office had unlawfully detained six asylum seekers at the site.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-57343084Covid-19 outbreak infected nearly 200 at Napier barracks
The Guardian · Jan 2021
Guardian coverage of the large Covid-19 outbreak at Napier Barracks in January 2021 that infected close to 200 residents, with Public Health England previously warning the site was unsuitable for use during the pandemic.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/31/covid-19-outbreak-infected-nearly-200-at-napier-barracks-folkestoneHome Office confirms end of asylum use at Napier Barracks in Folkestone
Kent Online · 2025
Kent Online coverage confirming the formal end of Napier Barracks as asylum accommodation and its handback to the Ministry of Defence in September 2025, after roughly five years of use.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/napier-barracks-asylum-use-ends/Bibby Stockholm: Asylum seekers removed after legionella found on barge
BBC News · Aug 2023
BBC report on the August 2023 evacuation of asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland Port after legionella bacteria were detected in the water supply, just days after the first arrivals.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66485935Man found dead on Bibby Stockholm barge
The Guardian · Dec 2023
Guardian coverage of the death of Leonard Farruku, a 27-year-old Albanian asylum seeker, on the Bibby Stockholm barge in December 2023. A coroner later returned a conclusion of suicide and criticised onboard conditions.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/12/man-found-dead-on-bibby-stockholm-bargeRAF Scampton asylum plan scrapped by new government
BBC News · Sep 2024
BBC report confirming the September 2024 cancellation of the RAF Scampton asylum accommodation plan by the incoming Labour government, after costs spiralled and no asylum seekers had been moved in.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3g5gr5znvloHome Office drops Linton-on-Ouse asylum centre plans
Yorkshire Post · Aug 2022
Yorkshire Post coverage of the Home Office's August 2022 decision to drop plans to house up to 1,500 asylum seekers at the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse, four months after the plan was first announced and following sustained opposition from Hambleton District Council, residents, and Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/linton-on-ouse-home-office-drops-asylum-plan-3820562Major seafront hotel in Blackpool to no longer house asylum seekers
ITV News Granada · Apr 2026
ITV confirms the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool will stop being used for asylum accommodation after a Home Office notice to Blackpool Council, ending its use as an asylum hotel by the end of July 2026.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2026-04-16/major-seafront-hotel-to-no-longer-house-asylum-seekersMigrant crisis: Metropole Hotel closes doors to asylum seekers as Chris Webb hails end of Blackpool's 'migration scandal'
GB News · Apr 2026
National coverage of Blackpool South MP Chris Webb announcing the end of the Metropole Hotel’s use as asylum accommodation, following a two-year campaign, with a July 2026 deadline set for asylum seekers to leave.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/migrant-crisis-metropole-hotel-chris-webb-blackpoolBlackpool Council and Home Office issue update on Metropole Hotel asylum seekers
Blackpool Gazette · Apr 2026
Local coverage of the Blackpool Council and Home Office joint update on the Metropole Hotel, setting out the managed transition of current residents into other accommodation elsewhere in the country.
https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/blackpool-council-and-home-office-update-on-metropole-hotel-asylum-seekers-6577022The Metropole: Closer to a prison than a holiday for asylum seekers
The Lead · 2025
Investigative local reporting on conditions inside the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool during its use as asylum accommodation, including allegations of dilapidation and a constrained regime.
https://blackpool.thelead.uk/p/the-metropole-closer-to-a-prisonWolverhampton hotel which has been focus of protests is to close to asylum seekers
Express & Star · Apr 2026
Express & Star confirms the Britannia Hotel on Lichfield Street in Wolverhampton is closing to asylum accommodation, with a Britannia Hotels spokeswoman stating the building is being refurbished ahead of reopening to the paying public.
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/wolverhampton/wolverhampton-hotel-which-has-been-focus-protests-is-to-close-to-asylum-seekers-6572808Ministers announce closure of more asylum hotels
LBC News · Apr 2026
National coverage of ministers announcing additional asylum hotel closures, with the Wolverhampton Britannia named among the sites exiting asylum use.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/ministers-announce-closure-more-asylum-hotels-5HjdXhz_2/Fears over 'unsuitable' Edinburgh city centre hotels being used to host asylum seekers
Edinburgh News (The Scotsman) · 2023
Names the Learmonth Hotel (a former Travelodge on Learmonth Terrace) as contracted by Mears Group to accommodate 125 asylum seekers, with councillors raising safeguarding concerns about room-sharing and the suitability of the site.
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/people/fears-over-unsuitable-edinburgh-city-centre-hotels-being-used-to-host-asylum-seekers-4358406How asylum hotels became a far-right target
The Ferret · 2024
Scottish investigative reporting surveying the use of hotels for asylum accommodation in Scotland, including Edinburgh sites and the role of Mears Group as the regional accommodation provider.
https://www.theferret.scot/asylum-hotels-explained/Number of asylum seekers staying at Wakefield's Cedar Court Hotel 'to double' as MP voices 'strong' opposition
Yorkshire Live (Examiner) · 2023
Names Cedar Court Hotel in Calder Grove, Wakefield and reports Home Office plans to roughly double the number of asylum seekers accommodated there from 148 to 306, with local MP Simon Lightwood opposing the change.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/number-asylum-seekers-staying-wakefields-27167152Home Office plan to DOUBLE the number of asylum seekers at Cedar Court hotel in Wakefield
Wakefield Express · 2023
Local reporting on the proposed doubling of asylum accommodation capacity at Cedar Court, Calder Grove.
https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/people/home-office-plan-to-double-the-number-of-asylum-seekers-at-cedar-court-hotel-in-wakefield-4192070Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale councils sought injunctions over Home Office asylum seeker hotel plans
Yorkshire Post · 2023
Reports that Wakefield Council (alongside Kirklees and Calderdale) applied unsuccessfully for injunctions to stop the Home Office placing asylum seekers at Cedar Court and other hotels.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/wakefield-kirklees-and-calderdale-councils-sought-injunctions-over-home-office-asylum-seeker-hotel-plans-4202121Protests outside Oxford asylum hotel as campaigners call for unity and compassion
Cherwell (Oxford) · Aug 2025
Names the Holiday Inn Express near the Kassam Stadium as an Oxford asylum hotel and reports on the rival anti-migrant and counter-protests held outside it in August 2025.
https://cherwell.org/2025/08/30/oxford-protesters-asylum-hotel-racism/Police ban Oxford asylum hotel protest under public order act
Cherwell (Oxford) · Oct 2025
Reports that Thames Valley Police applied Public Order Act restrictions on further protests outside the Holiday Inn Express asylum hotel by the Kassam Stadium in October 2025.
https://cherwell.org/2025/10/31/oxford-asylum-protest-ban/Asylum Seekers at the Suites Hotel: the facts
Knowsley News (Knowsley Council) · Feb 2023
Confirms Suites Hotel Kirkby has housed asylum seekers since January 2022 under a Home Office contract managed by Serco; states the Home Office originally intended a 12-month arrangement.
https://www.knowsleynews.co.uk/asylum-seekers-at-the-suites-hotel-the-facts/Boy, 13, among five charged over riot outside asylum seeker hotel in Knowsley
ITV News Granada · Jul 2023
Reports the criminal charges and earlier sentencing in connection with the February 2023 violent disorder outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-07-13/boy-13-among-five-charged-over-riot-outside-asylum-seeker-hotelProtesters clash at Muthu Glasgow River Hotel at centre of asylum seeker accommodation plan
STV News · 2023
Reports the planned arrival of around 200 asylum seekers at the Muthu Glasgow River Hotel in Erskine and the subsequent confrontations between Patriotic Alternative protesters and counter-demonstrators.
https://news.stv.tv/west-central/protesters-clash-at-muthu-glasgow-river-hotel-at-centre-of-asylum-seeker-accommodation-plan-in-renfrewshirecampaign group aimed to recruit Erskine locals over asylum seekers
The Ferret · 2023
Investigation into Patriotic Alternative recruitment activity in Erskine during the Muthu Glasgow River Hotel asylum protests.
https://www.theferret.scot/far-right-recruit-erskine-locals-asylum-seekers/Council takes hotel bosses to court as hundreds of asylum seekers due to move in
ITV News Wales · Jul 2023
Reports Carmarthenshire Council's legal action over the planned use of Stradey Park Hotel in Furnace, Llanelli for around 241 asylum seekers.
https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2023-07-07/council-takes-hotel-bosses-to-court-as-hundreds-of-asylum-seekers-due-to-move-inLlanelli hotel earmarked for housing asylum seekers granted injunction against protesters
Nation.Cymru · Jul 2023
Reports the High Court granted Stradey Park Hotel an injunction against named protesters during the dispute over its proposed use as asylum accommodation.
https://nation.cymru/news/llanelli-hotel-earmarked-for-housing-asylum-seekers-granted-injunction-against-protesters/Rotherham riot: everything we know about the violence at asylum seeker hotel
The Star (Sheffield) · Aug 2024
Reports the 4 August 2024 riot outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Wath-upon-Dearne, with 700+ rioters, 50+ officers injured, and the hotel set ablaze.
https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/rotherham-riot-everything-violence-asylum-seeker-hotel-pm-condemns-far-right-thuggery-4728900Council passes motion labelling asylum hotel riot a terrorist attack
ITV Calendar · Sep 2024
Reports Rotherham Council passed a motion describing the August 2024 attack on the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers as a terrorist attack.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2024-09-12/council-passes-motion-labelling-asylum-hotel-riot-a-terrorist-attackAfter the riots: what caused the Tamworth hotel attack
ITV News · Sep 2024
Examines the August 2024 attack on the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth that housed asylum seekers, including the use of petrol bombs and fire damage.
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-09-02/after-the-riots-what-caused-the-tamworth-hotel-attackThree men wanted by Essex Police following Bell Hotel disorder
ITV London · Jul 2025
Reports Essex Police investigation into disorder outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, an asylum hotel that became a flashpoint in summer 2025.
https://www.itv.com/news/london/2025-07-24/epping-three-men-wanted-by-essex-police-following-bell-hotel-disorderBritannia hotel in Canary Wharf used for asylum seekers
East London Advertiser · Aug 2025
Reports the use of the 500-room Britannia International Hotel on Marsh Wall, Canary Wharf as asylum accommodation from August 2025.
https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/25334038.britannia-hotel-canary-wharf-used-asylum-seekers/Migrant crisis: asylum seekers moved into London hotel
GB News · Aug 2025
Reports the overnight transfer of asylum seekers by coach to the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf in mid-August 2025.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/migrant-crisis-london-hotel-britannia-canary-wharfGlasgow hotel asylum seekers update
Positive Action in Housing · 2020
Documents the Park Inn Glasgow stabbing of 26 June 2020 and the wider use of Glasgow city centre hotels for asylum accommodation by Mears under Home Office contract.
https://www.paih.org/glasgows-hotel-asylumseekers-updateBangor hotel asylum use ends
News Letter · Feb 2026
Reports the closure of the Marine Court Hotel in Bangor, Co Down as asylum accommodation as part of the February 2026 tranche of 11 closures, after years of local protest.
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/bangor-hotel-asylum-use-ends-5615754Rival protesters clash outside asylum seeker hotel
ITV Granada · Aug 2025
Reports the recurring protests and counter-protests outside the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, an asylum hotel in continuous use since February 2023.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2025-08-09/rival-protesters-clash-outside-asylum-seeker-hotelAltrincham protesters shoot fireworks at hotel and tell residents to jump from windows
HOPE not hate · Nov 2025
Reports the Halloween 2025 fireworks attack against the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham while it was housing asylum seekers.
https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/11/07/get-one-through-the-window-altrincham-protesters-shoot-fireworks-at-hotel-and-tell-residents-to-jump-from-windows/Government has closed eleven asylum hotels
Danny Beales MP (constituency statement) · 2026
Statement by Danny Beales MP confirming the closure of the Holiday Inn London-Heathrow (Sipson) as part of the early-2026 tranche of asylum hotel closures.
https://www.dannybeales.com/post/government-has-closed-eleven-asylum-hotelsHome Office detains women at new Derwentside detention centre
Women for Refugee Women · 2021
Documents campaigner concerns over the opening of Derwentside IRC and its use to detain women, including its remote location and the site's historical association with abuse.
https://www.refugeewomen.co.uk/home-office-detains-women-at-new-derwentside-detention-centre/Haslar IRC in Gosport to reopen with 600 beds
Portsmouth News · 2025
Reports the planned reopening of the former HMP/IRC Haslar in Gosport as a 600-bed immigration removal centre for foreign-national offenders and failed asylum seekers.
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/haslar-immigration-removal-centre-in-gosport-to-reopen-with-600-beds-for-foreign-national-offenders-and-failed-asylum-seekers-3855230Plans press on to reopen Oxford immigration removal centre
ITV Meridian · Sep 2025
Reports the £70 million reopening of Campsfield House IRC in Kidlington under the Labour government, run by Mitie, despite opposition from Oxford City and County Councils.
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2025-09-03/plans-press-on-to-reopen-oxford-immigration-removal-centreWelfare contract at new Family Unit awarded, as Tinsley gets ready to hold children once more
AVID (Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees) · 2023
Records the awarding of a welfare contract for the new Tinsley House family unit and tracks the resumption of family detention at the Gatwick site after the closure of Cedars PDA.
https://www.aviddetention.org.uk/article/welfare-contract-at-new-family-unit-awarded-as-tinsley-gets-ready-to-hold-children-once-morePressure mounts as two Stoke-on-Trent hotels closed to public to house migrants
ITV News Central · Nov 2022
ITV News Central report confirming the North Stafford Hotel in Stoke and the Best Western on Trinity Street in Hanley were closed to the paying public to be used as Home Office asylum accommodation under the Serco regional contract.
https://www.itv.com/news/central/2022-11-30/two-stoke-on-trent-hotels-closed-for-migrants-likely-to-heighten-extremismCity council loses asylum seeker hotel injunction
Local Government Chronicle · Nov 2022
Local Government Chronicle coverage of Stoke-on-Trent City Council losing its bid to extend the High Court injunction blocking Home Office use of a city-centre hotel for asylum dispersal.
https://www.lgcplus.com/services/housing/city-council-loses-asylum-seeker-hotel-injunction-03-11-2022/Coventry hotel stops booking for paying guests as it continues to house asylum seekers
CoventryLive · Sep 2020
Reports that the Coventry Hill Hotel in Rye Hill, Allesley, run by the Britannia group, stopped accepting paying guests after being targeted by Britain First and that asylum seekers were housed at the site under the Home Office Serco contract.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-hotel-stops-booking-paying-18993247Man charged after disorder at Britain First protest over asylum seekers at Coventry hotel
CoventryLive · Sep 2020
Reports the Britain First protest of 29 August 2020 at the Coventry Hill Hotel and the subsequent common assault charge against a man arrested at the demonstration.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/man-charged-after-disorder-britain-18851126Coventry's good will is being taken advantage of: Council uses planning powers to stop asylum seekers being housed in third city hotel
Coventry Observer · 2024
Reports Coventry City Council using planning enforcement powers to push back against further Home Office hotel placements after the city already hosted asylum seekers at the Coventry Hill Hotel and other sites.
https://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/coventrys-good-will-is-being-taken-advantage-of-council-uses-planning-powers-to-stop-asylum-seekers-being-housed-in-third-city-hotel/Erskine: Asylum seekers move into Muthu Glasgow River Hotel
The Gazette (Renfrewshire) · Feb 2023
Local newspaper coverage of the February 2023 move of asylum seekers into the Muthu Glasgow River Hotel in Erskine under the Home Office Mears contract.
https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/23275591.erskine-asylum-seekers-move-muthu-glasgow-river-hotel/Asylum seekers in Erskine to be moved out of Muthu hotel
The Gazette (Renfrewshire) · Jan 2024
Reports the Home Office served notice on 3 January 2024 ending Mears use of the Muthu Glasgow River Hotel by 5 April 2024, with about 114 residents to be moved to dispersed accommodation across Scotland.
https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/24060853.asylum-seekers-erskine-moved-muthu-hotel/Concern grows about mental health of asylum seekers in Scottish hotels
The Ferret · 2024
Investigation into mental health pressures inside Scottish asylum hotels including the Muthu Glasgow River Hotel in Erskine, recording attempts of self-harm and isolation among residents during the contingency-hotel period.
https://www.theferret.scot/mental-health-asylum-seekers-scottish-hotels/Ipswich Borough Council loses legal fight to stop Novotel hotel from housing asylum seekers
ITV News Anglia · Nov 2022
ITV News Anglia report on the November 2022 High Court ruling that refused to extend Ipswich Borough Council's interim injunction against the use of the Novotel on Greyfriars Road for asylum accommodation, with around 70 asylum seekers already living at the four-star hotel.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2022-11-11/ipswich-council-loses-legal-bid-to-stop-asylum-seekers-being-housed-in-novotelIpswich Novotel to end use housing asylum seekers
East Anglian Daily Times · Oct 2023
East Anglian Daily Times coverage of immigration minister Robert Jenrick's 24 October 2023 Commons statement naming the Novotel Ipswich as one of the first 50 asylum hotels the Home Office would exit, with departures completing by the end of January 2024.
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23875999.ipswich-novotel-end-use-housing-asylum-seekers/Stevenage hotel closed to accommodate asylum seekers
The Comet · Sep 2022
Local newspaper report confirming that the Novotel in Stevenage, off junction 7 of the A1(M), was closed to the paying public from September 2022 in order to provide accommodation exclusively to asylum seekers under a Home Office contract.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/23037898.stevenage-hotel-closed-accommodate-asylum-seekers/Novotel in Stevenage told to stop housing asylum seekers
The Comet · Aug 2025
The Comet reports that Stevenage Borough Council has told Fairview Hotels (Knebworth) Ltd, the owner of the Novotel near junction 7 of the A1(M), that it intends to issue a planning enforcement notice unless the hotel stops being used to accommodate asylum seekers, on the basis that the use amounts to a hostel and is a breach of planning control.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/25254898.novotel-stevenage-told-stop-housing-asylum-seekers/Council ‘actively investigating’ alleged planning breaches at asylum seeker hotels in Hertfordshire
Harrow Online · Aug 2025
Reports that Stevenage Borough Council is actively investigating alleged planning breaches at the Novotel and Ibis hotels in the town following the Epping High Court ruling, with Clearsprings Ready Homes named as the contractor paying for the rooms and a combined population of 322 asylum seekers across the two hotels.
https://harrowonline.org/2025/08/22/council-actively-investigating-alleged-planning-breaches-at-asylum-seeker-hotels-in-hertfordshire/Asylum hotels: Another Labour council weighs options for planning law action
LabourList · Aug 2025
Coverage of the political context for Stevenage Borough Council's planning enforcement action against the Novotel, framed within the wider response of Labour councils to the Epping ruling on asylum hotels.
https://labourlist.org/2025/08/asylum-hotel-legal-challenge-stevenage-epping-planning-law-labour-council/Asylum seekers could be housed in Pontins holiday camp in East Sussex
Kent Online · Jan 2023
Reports that the Home Office approached Rother District Council and East Sussex County Council in December 2022 to enquire whether the Pontins Holiday Park at Camber Sands, with its 820 self-catering chalets, could be used for mass asylum seeker accommodation.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/pontins-considered-for-asylum-seekers-278752/Home Office drops plans to house asylum seekers in Pontins in Camber Sands
Kent Online · Feb 2023
Reports the Home Office formally dropped its plan to use Pontins Camber Sands for asylum accommodation in February 2023, after sustained opposition from Rother District Council, East Sussex County Council and local Conservative MP Sally-Ann Hart, who argued the remote coastal village lacked the public services to support large-scale asylum use.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/home-office-drops-plans-to-house-asylum-seekers-at-pontins-282398/Pontins holiday park in Camber Sands still in limbo 12 months after sudden closure
Kent Online · 2024
Follow-up reporting on the abandoned Pontins Camber Sands site one year after its sudden November 2023 commercial closure, with the holiday park still empty and Camber residents calling for clarity on its future.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/romney-marsh/news/abandoned-pontins-site-still-in-limbo-one-year-after-sudde-316651/Pontins could house asylum seekers as Home Office minister aims to end 'Hotel Britain'
North Wales Live (Daily Post) · Nov 2022
Welsh national mainstream coverage reporting that Pontins Prestatyn Sands was named in a Home Office options paper as one of several underperforming holiday camps under consideration for asylum accommodation, alongside cruise ships and student halls. Quotes Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick on ending "Hotel Britain" and a senior Home Office official describing off-season holiday camps as "an attractive idea".
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pontins-could-house-asylum-seekers-25504064'No intention' to house asylum seekers at Pontins Prestatyn, MP says
Rhyl Journal · Nov 2023
Local mainstream Welsh coverage reporting that Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies received direct confirmation from the Home Office on the evening of 30 November 2023, after the sudden commercial closure of Pontins Prestatyn, that the department had no intention of using the site to house asylum seekers.
https://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/23961258.no-intention-house-asylum-seekers-pontins-prestatyn-mp-says/'No plans' to house asylum seekers at Pontins Prestatyn after site closes suddenly
North Wales Live (Daily Post) · Nov 2023
Welsh national mainstream coverage of the 30 November 2023 sudden closure of Pontins Prestatyn. Reports MP James Davies obtaining ministerial assurance from Robert Jenrick that the government had no plans to use the location for asylum accommodation, and notes earlier 2022 reports listing the site as a potential candidate.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/no-plans-house-asylum-seekers-28207015What the Home Office said about Pontins Prestatyn housing asylum seekers
Rhyl Journal · Mar 2024
Reports the Home Office formal response to a February 2024 Freedom of Information request stating "this particular site is no longer being considered to house asylum seekers." Confirms official departmental consideration occurred and that the site has now been removed from active candidate lists.
https://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/24184401.pontins-prestatyn-no-longer-considered-asylum-seekers/Demonstrators detained by police during rival protests outside asylum hotel
ITV News · Aug 2025
ITV News coverage of rival anti-migrant and counter-protests outside The New Bridge Hotel in Newcastle on 2 August 2025, with police detaining demonstrators during the public order incident.
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-08-02/rival-groups-gather-as-asylum-hotel-protest-beginsNewcastle City Council not planning legal action to stop asylum seekers being housed in hotel
ITV News Tyne Tees · Aug 2025
ITV Tyne Tees confirms Newcastle City Council is not planning to follow Epping in seeking a High Court injunction over the asylum hotel in the city centre, and is instead relying on direct talks with the Home Office to end the contract.
https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2025-08-20/council-not-planning-legal-action-to-stop-asylum-seekers-being-housed-in-hotel13 pictures as protestors clash over migrants in Newcastle
Newcastle World · Aug 2025
Names The New Bridge Hotel in Newcastle as the city centre asylum hotel at the centre of recurring 2025 protest activity, reporting it as housing around 800 male asylum seekers.
https://www.newcastleworld.com/news/newcastle-protest-new-bridge-hotel-5286079Police confirm number of arrests following Newcastle weekend protests
Newcastle World · Aug 2025
Northumbria Police confirms four arrests in connection with public order offences during the first August 2025 weekend of asylum hotel protests outside The New Bridge Hotel in Newcastle city centre.
https://www.newcastleworld.com/news/crime/police-confirm-number-of-arrests-following-newcastle-weekend-protests-5255919Asylum seekers moved out of Newcastle hotel as Government shift policy
Newcastle World · 2025
Reports the partial drawdown of asylum seekers at The New Bridge Hotel in Newcastle as part of the wider Government shift away from hotel-based accommodation announced in 2025.
https://www.newcastleworld.com/news/asylum-seekers-moved-out-of-newcastle-hotel-as-government-shift-policy-4416772Hotel used to house asylum seekers undergoing dramatic multi-million pound refurbishment
Warrington Worldwide · Dec 2025
Reports the Daresbury Park Hotel housed asylum seekers for over five years under a Home Office contract, ending in spring 2025, before undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment ahead of a March 2026 commercial reopening.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2025/12/02/hotel-used-to-house-asylum-seekers-undergoing-dramatic-multi-million-pound-refurbishment/Daresbury Park Hotel bosses address asylum seekers past following boycott threats
Warrington Worldwide · Feb 2026
Confirms ahead of the planned March 2026 reopening that Daresbury Park previously operated as a Home Office contingency hotel and that operators are addressing public concern about the migrant-hotel period before returning to commercial trade.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2026/02/05/daresbury-park-hotel-bosses-address-asylum-seekers-past-following-boycott-threats/The Runcorn and Helsby By-election: Refugees, Hotel or Prison?
Ayaan Institute · May 2025
Reports that during the May 2025 Runcorn and Helsby by-election the Home Office confirmed it was ending its asylum accommodation contract at the Daresbury Park Hotel, citing capacity figures of around 317 beds rising to up to 420.
https://ayaaninstitute.com/expertise/analysis/the-runcorn-and-helsby-by-election-refugees-hotel-or-prison/Rival groups hold protests over asylum seekers housed in Newquay hotel
ITV News West Country · Feb 2023
Reports the February 2023 rival protests outside the Beresford Hotel in Newquay, with Cornwall Resists and counter-protesters facing off over the housing of asylum seekers at the seafront site.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-02-25/rival-protest-groups-clash-over-asylum-seekers-housed-in-hotelAsylum seekers to be moved out of Newquay's Beresford Hotel immediately
ITV News West Country · Apr 2023
Reports the Home Office informed Cornwall Council on 6 April 2023 that the Beresford Hotel was closing to asylum use within 24 hours, with residents transferred to alternative accommodation in the South East ahead of the Easter holiday.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-04-06/asylum-seekers-to-be-moved-out-of-cornwall-hotel-immediatelyHotel used to house asylum seekers on sale for £3.8m
ITV News West Country · May 2023
Reports the Beresford Hotel went on the open market with a guide price of £3.85m after the Home Office contract ended, marking the site's exit from contingency asylum use.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-05-17/hotel-used-to-house-asylum-seekers-on-sale-for-38mThree Bournemouth hotels handed over to asylum seekers at height of summer holidays
GB News · Aug 2025
Counts 304 hotel rooms across three Bournemouth hotels taken over for Home Office asylum accommodation in summer 2025, including a 102-room property identified in wider coverage as the Roundhouse Hotel on Bath Road.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/bournemouth-hotels-asylum-seekers-summerImmigration protests hit four month mark in Bournemouth
Bournemouth University Buzz · Nov 2025
Reports that weekly Bournemouth Patriots protests outside the Roundhouse Hotel reached the four month mark in November 2025, having begun in July 2025 against the use of the hotel as Home Office asylum accommodation.
https://buzz.bournemouth.ac.uk/2025/11/immigration-protests-hit-four-month-mark-in-bournemouth/Manchester hotel housing asylum seekers evacuated amid severe flooding
Birmingham Gist (AP wire) · Jan 2025
Reports the New Year's Day 2025 evacuation of the Britannia Country House Hotel in Didsbury, Manchester, after the River Mersey burst its banks, with around 500 asylum seekers ferried to safety by boat.
https://birminghamgist.com/2025/01/01/manchester-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-evacuated-amid-severe-flooding/Pack your bags, son: inside the live-streamed right-wing protests against asylum hotels in Britain
The Irish Times · Aug 2025
Names the Britannia Country House Hotel in Didsbury, Manchester among the asylum hotels at the centre of summer 2025 protest activity and reports that an Ethiopian resident of the hotel appeared at Manchester Magistrates' Court charged with sexual assault, which he denied.
https://www.irishtimes.com/world/uk/2025/08/21/protest-20-the-live-streamed-right-wing-protests-against-asylum-hotels-in-britain/Seacroft: far-right protest erupts outside migrant hotel in Leeds
NationalWorld · Aug 2025
Reports anti-asylum protests outside the Britannia Hotel in Seacroft, Leeds, in early August 2025 and the counter-demonstration mobilised by Stand Up To Racism in response.
https://www.nationalworld.com/news/uk/seacroft-far-right-protesters-clash-with-anti-racism-counter-demonstrators-outside-migrant-hotel-in-leeds-5254025Anti-racists outnumber far-right hooligans who target Leeds hotel housing refugees
Morning Star · Aug 2025
Reports that anti-racism counter-protesters outnumbered activists who targeted the Britannia Hotel in Seacroft, Leeds, on the weekend of 2 to 3 August 2025, with rocks thrown at hotel windows during the demonstration.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-racists-outnumber-far-right-hooligans-who-target-leeds-hotel-housing-refugeesRacist yob jailed for posting Facebook comments about Leeds hotel where asylum seekers are housed
Yorkshire Evening Post · 2024
Reports a custodial sentence handed down for racially aggravated Facebook comments targeting the Leeds hotel where asylum seekers were housed, predating the larger 2025 protests at the Seacroft Britannia.
https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/crime/racist-yob-jailed-for-posting-facebook-comments-about-leeds-hotel-where-asylum-seekers-are-housed-4735753Controversial Penally asylum seeker camp to shut, MP confirms
ITV News Wales · Mar 2021
Confirms the Home Office decision to close Penally Training Camp on 21 March 2021, with the site to be returned to the Ministry of Defence following weeks of discussions led by Welsh Secretary Simon Hart.
https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2021-03-16/controversial-penally-asylum-seeker-camp-to-shut-mp-confirmsFundamental failures at Penally camp says full report
ITV News Wales · Apr 2021
Reports the full HMIP and ICIBI report finding fundamental failures of leadership and planning at Penally Camp. Notes 171 residents at peak, cramped conditions, and that the vast majority of residents reported having felt depressed during their time at the site.
https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2021-04-16/fundamental-failures-at-penally-camp-says-full-reportChichester Park Hotel: Protests and counter-protests continue amid fears city hotel could be used to house asylum seekers
Sussex Express · Sep 2023
Reports rival protests and counter-protests outside the Chichester Park Hotel on Madgwick Lane in autumn 2023, after West Sussex County Council and Chichester District Council confirmed the property was being considered as contingency asylum accommodation for between 150 and 300 people.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/chichester-park-hotel-protests-and-counter-protests-continue-amid-fears-city-hotel-could-be-used-to-house-asylum-seekers-4354832Migrant hotel protest takes place in Chichester - photos
Sussex Express · 2025
Photo coverage of a 2025 anti-migrant-hotel protest outside the Chichester Park Hotel, part of a continuing pattern of weekend rallies at the site.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/migrant-hotel-protest-takes-place-in-chichester-photos-5285767Two significant rallies held in Chichester
Sussex Express · Sep 2025
Reports two rival rallies held in Chichester in September 2025, one protesting against the use of the Chichester Park Hotel as asylum accommodation and the other welcoming refugee families housed at the site.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/two-significant-rallies-held-in-chichester-5331168Police arrest five people after masked group tried to enter London asylum hotel
Yahoo News UK / Evening Standard (Anthony France) · Aug 2025
Reports the 30 August 2025 incident outside the Crowne Plaza in West Drayton, near Heathrow, where roughly 500 protesters under the Raise the Colours banner gathered and a group of masked men attempted to enter the hotel via the rear entrance, damaging security hoarding. Five arrests, two officer injuries, Section 35 dispersal order.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/police-arrest-five-people-masked-164714451.htmlUK police arrest 5 men at hotel near London during far-right protest
South China Morning Post / Associated Press · Aug 2025
Associated Press wire reporting on the 30 August 2025 arrests at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Heathrow. Confirms two officers were injured and that Met Commander Adam Slonecki said the police would take immediate action where peaceful protest crossed the line into criminality.
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323789/uk-police-arrest-5-men-hotel-near-london-during-far-right-protestUK police arrest five in London during far-right protest
Radio New Zealand / Associated Press · Aug 2025
AP wire copy carried by RNZ confirming five arrests at the Crowne Plaza Heathrow on 30 August 2025 and noting roughly 32,000 asylum seekers were housed across some 200 hotels nationwide as of late June 2025.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/571578/uk-police-arrest-five-in-london-during-far-right-protestSutton Coldfield hotel owners make millions from asylum seeker contracts
Yahoo News UK / Birmingham World · 2025
Investigation showing five Johal family directors of Sutton Coldfield Hotel Ltd and Savera Holdings UK paid themselves £5.62 million across 2022-2024 (£4.35m dividends, £1.27m fees) while the former Ramada hotel on Penns Lane housed up to 340 asylum seekers under a Serco contract from October 2021.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sutton-coldfield-hotel-owners-millions-070000351.htmlBirmingham hotel featured in Crossroads soap houses asylum seekers
Birmingham World · 2023
Reports that Penns Hall, the former Ramada hotel and one-time filming location for the Crossroads television series, has become an asylum hotel housing up to several hundred residents, with sustained pressure from Andrew Mitchell MP for closure.
https://www.birminghamworld.uk/news/pressure-mounts-on-uk-government-to-address-asylum-seeker-crisis-4087067Prime Minister pledges to claw back asylum hotel excess profits after Sutton Coldfield expose
Yahoo News UK · 2025
Reports the Prime Minister pledging to claw back excess profits from asylum accommodation providers after the Sutton Coldfield hotel disclosures showing the Johal family directors paid themselves £5.62m across three years.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/prime-minister-pledges-claw-back-132326370.htmlProtests held outside Park Hotel in Diss ahead of change to house single male asylum seekers
ITV News Anglia · 22 Jul 2025
Reports the 21 July 2025 protests outside the Park Hotel in Diss, where around 60 anti-migrant protesters and 30 counter-protesters gathered. James Harvey (22) and Luke Sharman (23) were later charged with racially aggravated public order offences, with Sharman additionally charged with possession of cannabis.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2025-07-22/protests-outside-hotel-due-to-house-single-male-asylum-seekersHome Office to stop housing asylum seekers in Diss hotel
Diss Mercury · Aug 2025
Reports the Home Office decision to stop using the Park Hotel in Diss for asylum accommodation. Asylum-seeking families had lived at the hotel for around two years before the dispute over a proposed swap to single adult males. MP Adrian Ramsay raised the position of children attending local schools.
https://www.dissmercury.co.uk/news/25411770.home-office-stop-housing-asylum-seekers-diss-hotel/Leicestershire hotel temporarily closing to help home office house asylum seekers
ITV News Central · Feb 2023
Reports the Best Western Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth, Leicestershire was being taken out of public booking from late February 2023 to be used by the Home Office for asylum dispersal under Serco, with up to 220 residents expected. Marco Pierre White restaurant and Houdini Escape Rooms in the building were also closed.
https://www.itv.com/news/central/2023-02-23/leicester-hotel-temporarily-closing-to-help-home-office-house-asylum-seekersMan charged following asylum hotel protest in Leicestershire village
ITV News Central · Feb 2023
Reports the late February 2023 protest outside the Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth, Leicestershire, after which Leicestershire Police charged a man with public order offences.
https://www.itv.com/news/central/2023-02-28/man-charged-following-asylum-hotel-protest-in-leicestershire-villageAsylum Hotel to close
Craig Smith MP · Jul 2024
MP Craig Smith confirms the closure of the Yew Tree Lodge in Kegworth, one of the last asylum hotels remaining in Leicestershire, hailing the decision as a triumph after 17 months of asylum use. Smith thanked local residents and community leaders alongside the District and County Council.
https://www.craig-smith.uk/news/asylum-hotel-closeMP hails a triumph as Bostocks Lane Asylum Accommodation Centre is set to close in July 2024
Erewash Sound · Mar 2024
Reports the March 2024 announcement that the Novotel on Bostocks Lane, Sandiacre would close as an Asylum Accommodation Centre in July 2024 after a campaign led by Erewash MP Maggie Throup. Throup confirmed her attention would now turn to closing the adjacent Best Western asylum hotel on the same road.
https://www.erewashsound.com/news/borough-wide/mp-hails-a-triumph-as-bostocks-lane-asylum-accommodation-centre-is-set-to-close-in-july-2024/Borough council rejects move to lobby Government for timeline to cease use of hotel to house asylum seekers
Erewash Sound · 2024
Erewash Borough Council rejects a motion to lobby central government for a timeline ending the use of the Best Western on Bostocks Lane for asylum accommodation, while the adjacent Novotel had already been confirmed for July 2024 closure.
https://www.erewashsound.com/news/sandiacre/borough-council-rejects-move-to-lobby-government/More than 100 people required homelessness assistance from Derbyshire council when Government-run asylum seeker hotel closed
Derbyshire Times · 2024
Reports that 105 people sought homelessness support from Derbyshire authorities after being required to leave the Novotel on Bostocks Lane when the Home Office contract ended in July 2024. The adjacent Best Western remained in asylum use.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/more-than-100-people-required-homelessness-assistance-from-derbyshire-council-when-government-run-asylum-seeker-hotel-closed-4873817Councillors push for a timeline to end asylum seeker use of an Erewash hotel
Erewash Sound · 2025
Reports the Best Western on Bostocks Lane in Sandiacre remained the only asylum hotel in Erewash after the adjacent Novotel closed in July 2024, with around 160 asylum seekers still housed there and councillors pushing for an end-date to the contract.
https://www.erewashsound.com/news/sandiacre/councillors-push-for-a-timeline-to-end-asylum-seeker-use-of-an-erewash-hotel-and-call-for-st-georges-day-parade/Luxury Snowdonia Hilton hotel being used to house asylum seekers
North Wales Live (Daily Post) · Nov 2022
Reports that the Hilton Garden Inn at Adventure Parc Snowdonia in Dolgarrog was being used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers from 6 November 2022, with weddings and events cancelled at minimal notice and rooms unavailable to book until at least Spring 2023. Aberconwy MP Robin Millar called the location unsuitable, isolated and unsupported by appropriate services.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/luxury-snowdonia-hilton-hotel-being-25450938Conwy council brands housing migrants at Snowdonia hotel 'wholly inappropriate'
North Wales Live (Daily Post) · Nov 2022
Conwy County Borough Council leader Charlie McCoubrey says the rural Dolgarrog location of the Hilton Garden Inn is wholly inappropriate to house vulnerable people, with the council not given advance notice by the Home Office. Reports cited up to around 200 male asylum seekers at the site.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-council-brands-housing-migrants-25457439Conwy considers legal action over Home Office placing migrants at Snowdonia Hilton
North Wales Live (Daily Post) · Nov 2022
Conwy County Borough Council confirmed it was considering legal action against the Home Office over the use of the Hilton Garden Inn at Adventure Parc Snowdonia for asylum accommodation. The council reported it had not been formally notified before residents were moved in from Manston processing centre in Kent.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-considers-legal-action-over-25474507Adventure Parc Snowdonia Hilton hotel used by asylum seekers reopens
North Wales Pioneer · Feb 2023
Reports the Hilton Garden Inn at Adventure Parc Snowdonia reopened to paying guests on 6 February 2023 after asylum use was decommissioned. Men housed at the hotel had come from Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Egypt, transferred from Manston in Kent. Reports a related figure of around 86 to 87 asylum seekers having been bussed to the site.
https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23303031.adventure-parc-snowdonia-hilton-hotel-used-asylum-seekers-reopens/Asylum seeker on hunger strike against 'inhumane' treatment at Stockport hotel
ITV News Granada · Nov 2022
Reports that an asylum seeker at the Britannia Hotel in Stockport went on hunger strike against what he described as inhumane and degrading treatment by Home Office contracted staff. The Serco run hotel held over 100 asylum seekers awaiting processing of their claims.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-11-17/asylum-seeker-on-hunger-strike-against-inhumane-treatment-at-stockport-hotelStatement about SERCO-run Hotel in Stockport
Navendu Mishra MP (Stockport) · Nov 2022
The Stockport MP issues an official statement describing the conditions reported at the Serco run asylum hotel in his constituency as deeply disturbing, citing scabies cases among residents, abusive behaviour from staff, water leaks and unhygienic food. Mishra calls on the Home Secretary to urgently intervene with Stockport Council to rehouse residents safely.
https://www.navendumishra.co.uk/news/statement-about-serco-run-hotel-in-stockportAshford Borough Council leader 'extremely angry' with Home Office over hotel booking for asylum seekers
Kent Online · Nov 2022
Ashford Borough Council leader Cllr Gerry Clarkson tells Kent Online he is extremely angry that the Home Office took an Ashford hotel for asylum accommodation without consulting Ashford Borough Council, Kent County Council, Kent Police or local health services. Clarkson says: "We have no control over this decision at all, and are extremely angry at the Home Office on how they have handled this situation. They have ignored not only our views, but those of Kent County Council, Kent Police and local health services." Residents began arriving in late October 2022.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/home-office-ignored-council-to-strike-asylum-seeker-hotel-276297/Anti-illegal immigration protestors gather outside Holiday Inn hotel in Canterbury Road, Ashford
Kent Online · Aug 2025
Reports an anti-illegal-immigration demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Canterbury Road, Ashford on 29 August 2025. More than a dozen people gathered with England and Union flags and banners reading "Shame on our two-tier government", with at least 50 cars sounding their horns during a 15-minute period. The hotel had been used as asylum accommodation for several years.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/protestors-descend-on-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-329210/Woman arrested at hotel used to house asylum seekers
Kent Online · Feb 2023
Reports a Kent Police callout to the Holiday Inn on Canterbury Road, Ashford at 4:42pm on 13 February 2023 over concerns for a person's welfare, after which a woman was arrested and later released without charge. The hotel had been housing asylum seekers since arrivals from Channel crossings in late October and early November 2022.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/woman-arrested-at-hotel-used-to-house-asylum-seekers-282195/Anti-immigrant protesters stormed York hotel sheltering asylum seekers
YorkMix · 2021
Reports the City of York Council Lessons Learnt review of the Mercure York Fairfield Manor at Skelton, where 90 male asylum seekers were housed from June 2020 to June 2021 under Mears. Confirms anti-migration protesters entered the hotel and filmed residents shortly after their arrival, that initial security was inadequate, and that the report flagged poor wifi and Mears confiscation of donated items as material concerns.
https://yorkmix.com/anti-immigrant-protesters-stormed-york-hotel-sheltering-asylum-seekers/Allesley Hotel ordered to remove asylum seekers after planning breach
CoventryLive (Coventry Telegraph) · Aug 2021
Reports that Coventry City Council issued the Allesley Hotel on Birmingham Road with a temporary stop notice ordering it to remove all asylum seekers by midday on Friday 3 September 2021 on the grounds that asylum use breached planning control. Coventry was housing more than 500 asylum seekers in temporary hotels at the time, plus 1,000 in dispersal accommodation, which the council described as overly and disproportionately high compared to the UK average.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/allesley-hotel-ordered-remove-asylum-21398122Coventry hotel stops booking for paying guests as it continues to house asylum seekers
CoventryLive (Coventry Telegraph) · 2020
Reports that the Allesley Hotel on Birmingham Road, Allesley, stopped taking bookings from paying guests while it continued to be used as Home Office contingency asylum accommodation under contract with Serco.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-hotel-stops-booking-paying-18993247The Allesley Hotel issued notice to stop housing asylum seekers
Hotel Owner · Aug 2021
Trade press coverage of Coventry City Council's temporary stop notice against the Allesley Hotel on Birmingham Road, ordering it to remove asylum seekers on planning grounds, with hotel manager Naushad Busawon stating the hotel would seek legal advice to challenge the notice.
https://www.hotelowner.co.uk/149030-the-allesley-hotel-issued-notice-to-stop-housing-asylum-seekers/City council mulls fresh legal action over asylum seeker hotel
Local Government Lawyer · 2021
Coventry City Council confirmed it was considering further enforcement action against the Allesley Hotel after a temporary stop notice issued in August 2021 in connection with the use of the Birmingham Road site for asylum dispersal accommodation.
https://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/59242-city-council-mulls-fresh-legal-action-over-asylum-seeker-hotelAllesley Hotel investigation launched after significant fire
CoventryLive (Coventry Telegraph) · 2023
Reports an investigation after a significant fire at the closed Allesley Hotel on Birmingham Road, the second large fire at the building since it ceased trading; the building was deemed unsafe and beyond repair.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/allesley-hotel-investigation-launched-after-28613761238 asylum seekers secretly moved into city centre hotel by Home Office
Express & Star · Aug 2020
Reports that more than 200 asylum seekers were moved into a Birmingham city centre hotel without consultation with city leaders. Birmingham City Council was informed of plans to relocate 238 people on 21 May 2020 less than a week before the first arrivals on 27 May. Council leader Ian Ward wrote to the Home Office warning that the lack of consultation, combined with already disproportionately high local headcounts, could fuel community tension.
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2020/08/08/238-asylum-seekers-secretly-moved-into-city-centre-hotel-by-home-office/Formal go-ahead sought for hotel asylum seeker scheme
Insider Media (Midlands) · 2020
Reports the application seeking formal planning permission for the continued use of half the rooms at the grade II listed Birmingham Strathallan Hotel on Hagley Road, Edgbaston for accommodating asylum seekers, after the initial 2020 placement of 238 residents at the property.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/midlands/formal-go-ahead-sought-for-hotel-asylum-seeker-schemeOver 20 West Midlands hotels filled by asylum seekers
Express & Star · Nov 2022
Reports that more than 20 hotels across the West Midlands were being used by Serco under a Home Office contract to house asylum seekers, including sites in Birmingham, with the regional contract running at about £2.4 billion a year nationally at that point.
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2022/11/03/over-20-west-midlands-hotels-packed-with-asylum-seekers/Reopening Crewe hotel housed 115 single male asylum seekers at its peak
Crewe Nub News · Apr 2026
Local press confirmation that the Crewe Arms Hotel on Nantwich Road housed up to 115 single adult male asylum seekers at peak under the Home Office contract, with numbers reducing steadily until the site's closure following a ministerial decision to prioritise the hotel for closure.
https://crewe.nub.news/news/local-news/reopening-crewe-hotel-housed-115-single-male-asylum-seekers-at-its-peak-293303Crewe hotel to reopen to public after housing asylum seekers
Crewe Nub News · Apr 2026
Local press coverage of the planned April 2026 reopening of the Crewe Arms Hotel to the paying public after a period of use as Home Office asylum accommodation, including confirmation of the ministerial decision to prioritise the site for closure.
https://crewe.nub.news/news/local-news/crewe-hotel-set-to-reopen-this-april-after-housing-asylum-seekers-290073Crewe asylum seeker hotel closed following partnership work
Cheshire's Silk 106.9 · Apr 2026
Local Cheshire radio coverage of the closure of the Crewe Arms Hotel on Nantwich Road as Home Office asylum accommodation, with the police welcoming the closure following sustained partnership work with the Home Office.
https://www.silk1069.com/news/local-news/crewe-asylum-seeker-hotel-closed-following-partnership-work/Cheshire Police welcome closure of asylum seeker hotel in Crewe
The Nantwich News · Apr 2026
Local press coverage of Cheshire Police welcoming the closure of the Crewe Arms Hotel on Nantwich Road as Home Office asylum accommodation, with the final resident leaving in April 2026 ahead of a public reopening on 20 April 2026.
https://thenantwichnews.co.uk/2026/04/15/cheshire-police-welcome-closure-of-asylum-seeker-hotel-in-crewe/Violence erupts at protest outside Holiday Inn hotel, Newton Heath
The Oldham Times · Jul 2024
Reports the 31 July 2024 disorder outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road in Newton Heath, which was known to house asylum seekers, with rocks and bottles thrown at police and a Serco statement on the safety of staff and residents.
https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/24490443.protesters-erupt-violence-holiday-inn-hotel/Nazi salutes and attacks on asylum seeker hotels: rioting spreads from Southport
The Manchester Mill · Aug 2024
Local long-form coverage by The Manchester Mill of the spread of disorder following the Southport stabbing, including the gathering of around 40 demonstrators outside the Holiday Inn in Newton Heath that purportedly housed asylum seekers and the wider rioting in Manchester city centre.
https://manchestermill.co.uk/nazi-salutes-and-attacks-on-asylum/Parkway Hotel, Otley Road
Cllr Barry Anderson (Adel and Wharfedale, Leeds City Council) · 2023
Adel and Wharfedale ward councillor Cllr Barry Anderson reproduces the Leeds City Council statement confirming the Home Office identified the Mercure Leeds Parkway on Otley Road, Leeds LS16 8AG for urgent asylum contingency accommodation, with Mears as the accommodation provider supporting service users at the hotel. Records that the council was not consulted on the Home Office decision and could not overturn it, and that the council formally raised its concerns and disappointment and requested an urgent meeting.
https://www.barryanderson.org.uk/news/parkway-hotel-otley-roadIt was predatory grooming behaviour: Lonely Leeds asylum seeker claimed he had no time to meet women
Yorkshire Evening Post · Apr 2023
Court report naming the Mercure Hotel on Otley Road, Leeds as the address of an asylum seeker resident at Leeds Crown Court for online communications offences against a fictitious 13-year-old, with the campaign starting in September 2022. Confirms the Mercure Otley Road site was housing asylum seekers from at least September 2022 and through April 2023.
https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/crime/lonely-asylum-seeking-leeds-predator-claimed-he-had-no-time-to-meet-women-4110432Leeds Local Welcome Pack 2023 (issued January 2024)
Leeds Migration Partnership / Mears Welcome Pack · Jan 2024
Leeds Migration Partnership welcome pack issued January 2024 documenting Mears Group as the regional Home Office accommodation provider for asylum seekers in Leeds, including those housed in city contingency hotels. Used alongside the council statement to confirm Mears as the operator at the Mercure Leeds Parkway Hotel.
https://migrationpartnership.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-10_659ece5daca28_LeedsLocalWelcomePack2023.pdfBritain First and Anti-Migrant Activism
Hope Not Hate · Jun 2022
Records that Paul Golding of Britain First gained entry to the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham on 17 April 2021 and accosted residents on camera, demanding to know where they had come from. Police were called and the footage was uploaded to social media as part of a wider Britain First anti-migrant hotel visit campaign.
https://hopenothate.org.uk/2022/06/28/britain-first-and-ant-migrant-activism/Hotel Chain Voted UK's Worst Makes Tens of Millions a Year from Housing Asylum Seekers in Harmful Conditions
Byline Times · Mar 2024
Investigates the Britannia Hotels group, naming the Britannia Nottingham among its asylum estate. Britannia booked over £150m in revenue from Home Office asylum contracts over a decade, with conditions described by charities as actively harming residents. Owner Alex Langsam estimated to be worth around £400m.
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/03/15/hotel-chain-voted-uks-worst-makes-tens-of-millions-a-year-from-housing-asylum-seekers-in-harmful-conditions/Derbyshire council will assess if two hotels housing asylum seekers have broken planning laws
Derbyshire Times · 2025
Reports that Derby City Council voted at its 17 September 2025 meeting to formally assess whether the Midland Hotel and the nearby Station Hotel had breached planning law through their asylum use, with the Liberal Democrat Mayor Cllr Ajit Singh Atwal casting the deciding vote. The two hotels housed 329 asylum seekers between them at the time of the meeting.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/derbyshire-council-will-assess-if-two-hotels-housing-asylum-seekers-have-broken-planning-laws-5325606Two Derby hotels housing asylum seekers could face enforcement or legal action - council decides
Derby World · Sep 2025
Reports the same Derby City Council vote of 17 September 2025 directing officers to assess the Midland and Station hotels on Midland Road for potential planning enforcement action over their asylum use. Notes that the council had previously declined to launch a legal challenge against the Home Office.
https://www.derbyworld.co.uk/news/derby-council-hotel-asylum-seeker-5328181Home Office insists it will close every asylum seeker hotel after Derbyshire council demands timeline
Derbyshire Times · 2026
Reports that Derbyshire County Council under its Reform UK administration voted in February 2026 to demand a public Home Office timeline for closure of every asylum hotel in the county. The Home Office responded saying it intended to end hotel use before the end of the current Parliament without naming dates for the Midland and Station hotels in Derby.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/home-office-insists-it-will-close-every-asylum-seeker-hotel-after-derbyshire-council-demands-timeline-5605192Hundreds attend anti-immigration protest outside asylum hotel in Norwich
ITV News Anglia · Jul 2025
Reports that several hundred anti immigration protesters gathered outside the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe on 26 July 2025, with around 150 counter protesters present. Norfolk Police described the event as noisy but largely peaceful with no arrests at the scene; officers said footage would be reviewed for any offences.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2025-07-26/hundreds-attend-anti-immigration-protest-outside-asylum-hotel-in-norwichHundreds attend anti-immigration protest outside Norwich asylum hotel
LBC · Jul 2025
Reports the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe, Norwich, as the focal point of a major anti immigration protest involving around 400 protesters and 150 counter demonstrators. Frames the gathering as part of a national wave of asylum hotel protests in summer 2025.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/protest-norwich-asylum-hotel/Briefing: Anti-migrant activity ramps up in 3 locations across the country
Hope Not Hate · Jul 2025
Names the Brook Hotel in Norwich alongside the Park Hotel in Diss and other asylum hotels as escalating anti migrant flashpoints in summer 2025, profiling the organisers behind the recurring Bowthorpe demonstrations.
https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/07/23/briefing-anti-migrant-activity-ramps-up-in-3-locations-across-the-country/Asylum seekers in Long Eaton hotels say they have been spat at
Erewash Sound (via inkl) · 2023
Reports first hand accounts from residents at the Novotel and Best Western on Bostocks Lane describing being spat at and abused on the street. Estimates a combined 400 single male asylum seekers across the two hotels at peak.
https://www.inkl.com/news/asylum-seekers-in-long-eaton-hotels-say-they-have-been-spat-atPeckham protest: Police confirm 45 arrests after officers were assaulted
Southwark News · May 2024
Local press coverage of the 2 May 2024 protest outside the Best Western London Peckham Hotel that blocked a coach removing asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge, with the Metropolitan Police confirming 45 arrests for offences including obstruction of the highway, obstructing police and assault on police.
https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/peckham/peckham-protest-police-confirm-45-arrests-after-officers-were-assaulted/Police move in to arrest Peckham protesters blocking bus removing migrants after tyres slashed
LBC · May 2024
National broadcaster coverage of the 2 May 2024 protest at the Best Western London Peckham Hotel on Peckham Road, with hundreds blocking a coach taking asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge and Lime hire bikes used to obstruct the wheels.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/peckham-asylum-protest-police-arrest-5Hjcjmr_2/Peckham: one year on
Migrants' Rights Network · Jun 2025
Anniversary review of the May 2024 Peckham asylum hotel resistance, confirming the Best Western Peckham Hotel as the site of the demonstration that successfully prevented the removal of asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge.
https://migrantsrights.org.uk/2025/06/20/peckham-one-year-on/Probe Launched After Fire at Asylum Seeker Hotel in Finsbury Park
UK News in Pictures (UKNIP) · 2025
Press coverage of the early-hours fire at the New Pembury Hotel on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, confirming the hotel was housing asylum seekers and that London Fire Brigade attended with six fire engines and a turntable ladder; building safely evacuated with no casualties.
https://uknip.co.uk/news/uk/breaking/probe-launched-after-fire-at-asylum-seeker-hotel-in-hackney/Major Fire at New Pembury Hotel in Hackney Disrupts Bus Services
UK News in Pictures (UKNIP) · 2025
Follow-up report on the New Pembury Hotel fire, confirming the building at 326-328 Seven Sisters Road as housing asylum seekers and detailing significant TfL bus disruption on routes 29, 253, 254, 259, N29, N253 and N279.
https://uknip.co.uk/news/uk/breaking/major-fire-at-new-pembury-hotel-in-hackney-disrupts-bus-services/Counter-protesters unite against asylum hotel demo
Islington Tribune · 2024
Islington Tribune coverage of community counter-protests against anti-asylum demonstrations at North London asylum hotels, with Finsbury Park Mosque, the TUC, Islington Homes for All and all three Town Hall parties named among the dozens of community groups that organised the response.
https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/counter-protesters-unite-against-asylum-hotel-demoThree London hotels to be converted into coronavirus isolation centres
The Caterer · Apr 2020
Hospitality industry trade press confirmation that Interserve was contracted by the Home Office to convert three London hotels including the Holiday Inn Brent Cross into isolation units for asylum seekers exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms during the early pandemic.
https://www.thecaterer.com/news/three-london-hotels-coronavirus-isolation-centres-interservecampaign group targeting hotels housing asylum seekers around UK and harassing them
The London Economic · Sep 2020
National news report on Britain First targeting hotels housing asylum seekers, confirming the Holiday Inn Brent Cross as one of the locations visited by Paul Golding to film migrants at room windows in 2020 alongside hotels in Camden, Essex, Birmingham and Warrington.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/far-right-group-targeting-hotels-housing-asylum-seekers-around-uk-harassing-them-199796/Holiday Inn owner urges calm after attacks on two hotels housing asylum seekers
East London Advertiser · Aug 2024
IHG owner statement during the August 2024 disorder following the Southport stabbing, confirming Holiday Inn-branded properties including in north-west London as part of the asylum accommodation estate at the heart of the protest wave.
https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/24499959.holiday-inn-owner-urges-calm-attacks-two-hotels-housing-asylum-seekers/The lost souls of the Atrium hotel
The Spectator · Nov 2022
Will Lloyd long-form report from the Atrium Hotel Heathrow in Feltham, naming the site by name and describing the Home Office takeover of every floor at up to £241 per night, with around 70 to 80 men per floor and two per room, many transferred from the Manston processing centre.
https://spectator.com/article/the-lost-souls-of-the-atrium-hotel/Asylum seekers effectively detained at Home Office hotels in potential legal breach
Liberty Investigates · Oct 2022
Investigation reporting that young asylum seekers transferred to a hotel in Hounslow near Heathrow Airport said they could not leave for up to two weeks until screening interviews were complete, with experts characterising the conditions as effective detention.
https://libertyinvestigates.org.uk/articles/asylum-seekers-effectively-detained-at-home-office-hotels-in-potential-legal-breach/Report details plight of refugees and asylum seekers across Hounslow
The Chiswick Calendar · Nov 2023
Local press coverage of the Hounslow Council public health report finding 2,302 asylum seekers in the borough as of March 2023 (up from 454 in 2020), with about 70 percent housed in eight designated contingency hotels, the second highest concentration in England behind neighbouring Hillingdon.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/report-details-plight-of-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-across-hounslow/Young male asylum seekers at the Atrium Hotel in Feltham next to London Heathrow (news photo)
Alamy Live News · Sep 2023
Dated press photo caption from 11 September 2023 documenting young male asylum seekers at the Atrium Hotel in Feltham next to London Heathrow, naming the site directly during the post Illegal Migration Act 2023 hotel-use period.
https://www.alamy.com/feltham-uk-11th-september-2023-young-male-asylum-seekers-at-the-atrium-hotel-in-feltham-next-to-london-heathrow-there-are-some-reports-that-the-cost-of-housing-refugees-in-hotels-in-the-uk-costs-7-million-per-day-numerous-former-hotels-have-been-taken-over-by-the-home-office-to-house-asylum-seekers-the-illegal-migration-act-which-received-royal-assent-on-20-july-2023-changes-the-law-so-that-those-who-arrive-in-the-uk-illegally-will-not-be-able-to-stay-here-and-will-instead-be-detained-and-then-promptly-removed-either-to-their-home-country-or-a-safe-third-country-alamy-live-newsdleli-image565634055.htmlStuart writes to Home Secretary over Flore Hotel Asylum Seekers
Stuart Andrew MP · Nov 2024
Daventry MP Stuart Andrew writes to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper after being told only on the day of the change that the Holiday Inn Northampton West in Flore had begun accommodating asylum seekers, calling the lack of consultation entirely unacceptable.
https://www.stuartandrew.org.uk/news/stuart-writes-home-secretary-over-flore-hotel-asylum-seekersCouncil serves planning notices to three asylum hotels in West Northamptonshire as breaches may have occurred
Northampton Chronicle and Echo · Sep 2025
West Northamptonshire Council serves Planning Contravention Notices on the owners of the Ibis in Crick, the Holiday Inn in Flore and the MK Hotel in Deanshanger, giving each 21 days to respond after a suspected breach of planning control through Home Office asylum use.
https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/politics/council-serves-planning-notices-to-three-asylum-hotels-in-west-northamptonshire-as-breaches-may-have-occurred-5297446Here's the latest on three hotels near Northampton housing hundreds of asylum seekers
Northampton Chronicle and Echo · Nov 2024
Local press round-up confirming asylum-seeker arrivals at the Holiday Inn in Flore in November 2024, alongside the Ibis at Crick and MK Hotel at Deanshanger, and noting that Flore had previously been used for the same purpose between 2022 and 2023.
https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/politics/council/heres-the-latest-on-three-hotels-near-northampton-housing-hundreds-of-asylum-seekers-4979527Luton council blasts Home Office for taking advantage of compassion as over 100 asylum seekers placed in hotels
Luton Today · Dec 2024
Luton Council leader publicly accuses the Home Office of taking advantage of the town's compassion as figures show over 100 asylum seekers were placed in Luton hotels by the end of 2024, with central Luton hotels including the Icon among the sites used.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/politics/council/luton-council-blasts-home-office-for-taking-advantage-of-compassion-as-over-100-asylum-seekers-placed-in-hotels-5022856'Disproportionately high' numbers of asylum seekers are placed in Luton leaving services at 'breaking point', head of council says
Bedfordshire Live · Nov 2022
Bedfordshire Live reports the head of Luton Borough Council saying the town hosts about 24 per cent of asylum seekers placed in hotels in the East of England despite making up just over three per cent of the regional population, with central Luton hotels at the centre of the placement programme.
https://www.bedfordshirelive.co.uk/news/bedfordshire-news/disproportionately-high-numbers-asylum-seekers-7864108Luton Council threatens Home Office with legal action over placement of asylum seekers
Luton Today · 2023
Luton Today reports Luton Borough Council threatening the Home Office with legal action over the scale and pace of asylum-seeker hotel placements in the town, against the backdrop of the disproportionate share of regional placements identified by the council.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/luton-council-threatens-home-office-with-legal-action-over-placement-of-asylum-seekers-3932159Push for council to condemn racism and rhetoric over asylum seeker hotel
Wokingham.Today · 2025
Wokingham.Today reports cross-party councillor calls for Wokingham Borough Council to formally condemn racist rhetoric directed at the Best Western Plus Moat House Reading in Sindlesham, which has been used to house asylum seekers while their claims are processed for years.
https://wokingham.today/push-for-council-to-condemn-racism-and-rhetoric-over-asylum-seeker-hotel/Wokingham reviewing migrant hotel High Court order
Bracknell News · Aug 2025
Bracknell News reports the leader of Wokingham Borough Council confirming a review of the legal and planning implications of the Epping Forest High Court injunction for the Best Western Plus Moat House in Sindlesham, the only hotel in the borough used for asylum accommodation.
https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/25408742.wokingham-reviewing-migrant-hotel-high-court-order/Asylum seekers in Wembley hotel protest over poor conditions
Brent & Kilburn Times · Aug 2023
Brent & Kilburn Times reports asylum seekers staging a protest outside the Holiday Inn Wembley in Empire Way on 7 August 2023 after some had spent close to two years in the hotel waiting for asylum decisions, complaining about food and living conditions.
https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/23717106.asylum-seekers-wembley-hotel-protest-poor-conditions/Asylum seekers' protest outside Wembley's Holiday Inn: Homes not Hotels
Wembley Matters · Aug 2023
Wembley Matters publishes on-the-ground coverage of around 35 asylum seekers protesting outside the Holiday Inn in Empire Way, Wembley, with placards reading "no hotels, no barges, no tents, just licensed homes" and residents describing the conditions as prison-like after waits of up to two years.
https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2023/08/asylum-seekers-protest-outside-wembleys.htmlAsylum Seekers in London Are Protesting Poor Living Conditions and Long Wait Times
Novara Media · Aug 2023
Novara Media documents the August 2023 wave of London asylum-hotel protests led by residents themselves, including the Holiday Inn Wembley demonstration, framing it as part of a coordinated push against the Home Office contingency hotel system.
https://novaramedia.com/2023/08/11/asylum-seekers-in-london-are-protesting-poor-living-conditions-and-long-wait-times/Demonstrators detained by police during rival protests outside asylum hotel
ITV News · Aug 2025
ITV News reports nine arrests after rival pro-migrant and anti-migrant protests at the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington on 2 August 2025, with the Metropolitan Police imposing Public Order Act conditions on the demonstrations.
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-08-02/rival-groups-gather-as-asylum-hotel-protest-beginsPro and anti-migrant protesters face off at London hotel housing asylum seekers
The Guardian · Aug 2025
The Guardian reports the August 2025 standoff outside the Thistle City Barbican in Islington, naming it as a Home Office contingency hotel housing asylum seekers and describing the rival protest mobilisation that prompted Metropolitan Police Public Order Act conditions.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/02/protesters-oppose-one-another-at-london-hotel-housing-asylum-seekersIslington asylum hotel protests: Demonstrators arrested
Islington Gazette · Aug 2025
Islington Gazette reports the local protest organised under the banner "Thistle Barbican needs to go" and the counter-mobilisation by Stand Up To Racism and Islington Labour Party at the Thistle City Barbican on 2 August 2025, with arrests including breaches of the imposed protest conditions.
https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/25360998.islington-asylum-hotel-protests-demonstrators-arrested/Refugees are welcome here message as hotel is closed
Camden New Journal / Islington Tribune · 2025
Camden New Journal and Islington Tribune report that the Thistle City Barbican Hotel's use as Home Office asylum accommodation will end on 11 December 2025 after the landlord served notice on the contractor, and that the site has accommodated thousands of asylum seekers across roughly four years.
https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/refugees-are-welcome-here-message-as-hotel-is-closedAsylum seeker who entered UK illegally and lived in 'four-star' migrant hotel jailed for raping woman in Hyde Park
LBC · 2025
LBC reports that an Egyptian national, Abdelrahmen Adnan Abouelela, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for the November 2024 rape of a woman in Hyde Park while resident at the taxpayer-funded Hampton by Hilton in Ealing, with the hotel run by SD Commercial as a closed migrant facility.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/asylum-seeker-jailed-rape-hyde-park-5HjdD4s_2/Illegal migrant who raped woman in Hyde Park while living in the Hilton hotel is a convicted terrorist
LBC · 2025
LBC reports that the Egyptian asylum seeker convicted of the Hyde Park rape was a previously convicted terrorist whose asylum claim had been pending with the Home Office for 17 months while he was housed in the Hampton by Hilton London Ealing, raising contractor and screening questions.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/hyde-park-rape-migrant-convicted-terrorist-5HjdDCW_2/Illegal Migrant Convicted of Rape in Hyde Park
UK News in Pictures · 2025
UK News in Pictures publishes the Metropolitan Police booking image and case summary for the Egyptian rapist resident at the Hampton by Hilton London Ealing, confirming the hotel as Home Office asylum accommodation operated as a closed site by hospitality contractor SD Commercial.
https://uknip.co.uk/uk-news/illegal-migrant-rape-hyde-park/Southcliff Hotel In Folkestone Sold For Migrant Accommodation
Kent News · 2023
Kent News confirms Serco bought The Southcliff Hotel in Folkestone for use as Home Office contracted asylum accommodation.
https://www.kentnews.online/southcliff-hotel-in-folkestone-sold-for-immigrant-accommodation/Government axe Folkestone hotel from list of asylum accommodation
Local Rags · Oct 2023
Local Rags reports the Home Office added the Southcliff in Folkestone to the 24 October 2023 list of fifty asylum hotels being closed, with use ending by end of November 2023.
https://localrags.co.uk/2023/10/31/government-dump-folkestone-hotel-from-list-of-asylum-accommodation/Popular Southsea hotel cancels all bookings to house refugees leaving customers fuming
Portsmouth News · 2023
Portsmouth News reports the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea cancelled all its commercial bookings to be block-booked by the Home Office for asylum seeker accommodation, prompting public anger from displaced customers.
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/popular-southsea-hotel-cancels-all-bookings-to-house-refugees-for-six-months-3561853My family has flashbacks when protesters surround hotel
Diocese of Portsmouth · Sep 2025
Diocese of Portsmouth reports asylum-seeking families with young children at the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea suffering flashbacks after weekly anti-asylum protests outside the building in summer 2025.
https://www.portsmouth.anglican.org/news/2025/09/05/my-family-has-flashbacks-when-protesters-surround-hotel/Southampton restaurant owners blame asylum hotel for forcing closure of business
ITV News Meridian · Jan 2026
ITV Meridian reports owners of Ceno Restaurant in Portswood blamed the neighbouring Highfield House Hotel asylum use for forcing them to close the business at the start of 2026.
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-01-06/restaurant-owners-blame-asylum-hotel-for-forcing-closure-of-businessReform UK Southampton lodge formal challenge to Highfield House Hotel housing Asylum seekers
Southampton Times · 2025
Southampton Times reports Reform UK Southampton lodging a formal planning enforcement complaint with Southampton City Council over Highfield House Hotel housing approximately 100 asylum seekers without a documented change of use from C1 hotel use.
https://southamptontimes.co.uk/reform-uk-southampton-lodges-formal-challenge-to-highfield-house-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers/Man denies sexually assaulting Highfield House Hotel staff member in Southampton
ITV News Meridian · Jan 2026
ITV Meridian reports court proceedings against a man charged with sexual assault of a worker at Highfield House Hotel, identified as a hotel housing asylum seekers in Portswood, Southampton.
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-01-21/man-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-worker-at-hotel-used-to-house-asylum-seekersReform UK lodges complaint over Aldershot hotel housing asylum seekers
Farnham Herald · 2025
Farnham Herald reports Reform UK Aldershot lodging a planning enforcement complaint with Rushmoor Borough Council over Potters International Hotel on Fleet Road, with around 168 asylum seekers across Rushmoor hotel accommodation as of June 2025.
https://www.farnhamherald.com/news/reform-uk-lodges-complaint-over-aldershot-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-825365Police explain footage of asylum hotel protesters in Aldershot
Greatest Hits Radio (Surrey & East Hampshire) · 2024
Greatest Hits Radio reports on the July 2024 anti-asylum protest at Potters International Hotel in Aldershot where Hampshire Police were filmed managing the demonstration and arresting protesters.
https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/surrey-east-hampshire/news/protest-footage-aldershotHome Office wants to use The Granby Hotel, Northfleet, to house asylum seekers
KentOnline · Jan 2023
KentOnline reports Gravesham Borough Council leader saying the Home Office plan to use The Granby Hotel in Northfleet for asylum accommodation is the wrong use in the wrong place.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/this-is-the-wrong-use-in-the-wrong-place-281320/Leader of Gravesham council concerned about extremist views as Home Office wants to use The Granby Hotel for asylum seekers
KentOnline · Feb 2023
KentOnline reports Gravesham Borough Council raising concerns about worrying social media activity and extremist views in the area as the Home Office prepared to move asylum seekers into The Granby Hotel.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/tensions-form-in-community-over-asylum-seekers-281588/Asylum seekers set to move into The Granby Hotel in Northfleet, despite concerns from Gravesham council
KentOnline · Feb 2023
KentOnline confirms long-term residents at The Granby were given days notice to leave from late January 2023 before approximately 70 asylum seekers were moved in by the Home Office on 21 February 2023.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/asylum-seekers-to-move-into-hotel-despite-safety-fears-282524/More than 70 children disappear from Hove hotels housing asylum-seekers
Brighton and Hove News · Dec 2022
Brighton and Hove News reports more than 70 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children went missing from Hove hotels including the Imperial in First Avenue, with 30 going missing from a single site since April.
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2022/12/12/more-than-70-children-disappear-from-hove-hotels-housing-asylum-seekers/Home Office looks to house more child refugees in Hove hotel
Brighton and Hove News · Jun 2023
Brighton and Hove News confirms the Home Office expanded its use of Hove hotels for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, with the Imperial Hotel one of three city hotels in use alongside the Langfords and the Albany.
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2023/06/22/home-office-looks-to-house-more-child-refugees-in-hove-hotel/Council won't seek to end use of asylum seeker hotels in Brighton and Hove
Brighton and Hove News · Aug 2025
Brighton and Hove News reports the City Council declined to follow Epping in pursuing legal action to close asylum hotels, with the Imperial in First Avenue, Hove confirmed as one of the Home Office contracted sites in the city.
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2025/08/21/council-wont-seek-to-end-use-of-asylum-seeker-hotels-in-brighton-and-hove/Plan for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children's centre at Northwood Court is withdrawn
The Isle of Thanet News · Aug 2024
The Isle of Thanet News reports the Kent County Council bid to use Northwood Court in Broadstairs as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking children centre was withdrawn after Clearsprings already attempted to occupy the site under a separate lease that was revoked.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2024/08/07/plan-for-unaccompanied-asylum-seeking-childrens-centre-at-northwood-court-is-withdrawn/Kent County Council axes bid to house asylum-seeking children at Northwood Court in Broadstairs
KentOnline · 2024
KentOnline confirms Kent County Council dropped its bid to use Northwood Court for asylum-seeking children after community opposition, with Clearsprings Ready Homes having previously attempted to use the site under a Home Office contract before the lease was revoked.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/kcc-drops-child-asylum-seeker-centre-proposals-311441/Application lodged for 84-bed HMO at Northwood Court despite proposal for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children's centre still to be decided
The Isle of Thanet News · Jul 2024
The Isle of Thanet News documents that in November 2022 Nelson College London leased Northwood Court to Clearsprings Ready Homes for Home Office asylum accommodation and some asylum seekers were briefly placed before the lease was revoked.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2024/07/28/application-lodged-for-84-bed-hmo-at-northwood-court-despite-proposal-for-unaccompanied-asylum-seeking-childrens-centre-still-to-be-decided/Outrage after deportation centre plan is leaked
KentOnline · 2007
KentOnline reports a leaked Home Office plan to convert the Nayland Rock Hotel on Margate seafront into a deportation holding centre, opposed by Thanet North MP Roger Gale and the council leader.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/outrage-after-deportation-centre-a30302/Former Nayland Rock Hotel in Royal Crescent, Margate, where Mick Jagger stayed set to be developed into flats
KentOnline · 2024
KentOnline records the Nayland Rock's use as government accommodation for asylum seekers from 2000 onwards, prior to closure as a commercial hotel in 2008 and subsequent redevelopment proposals.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/landmark-hotel-could-become-flats-in-20m-scheme-338675/Coventry City Council loses High Court challenge over excessive number of asylum seekers
CoventryLive · Nov 2025
Local press coverage of the Coventry City Council judicial review challenge to the Home Office decision of 12 November 2024 to procure the ibis Coventry South on Abbey Road for asylum accommodation; Mr Justice Eyre dismissed the claim in full in November 2025.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-city-council-loses-high-32879194Council loses court bid against decision to house more asylum seekers
LBC · Nov 2025
National broadcast coverage of Coventry City Council losing its High Court bid against the Home Office decision to house additional asylum seekers in the city, with the ibis Coventry South named as the contingency hotel at the centre of the challenge.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/coventry-council-asylum-seekers-5HjdMqm_2/MP presses government for Crewe's Royal Hotel to cease as asylum accommodation
Crewe Nub News · 2025
Local press coverage of Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith urging the Home Office to end asylum accommodation use at the grade II listed Royal Hotel on Nantwich Road, the historic building dating to the 1800s housing asylum seekers since 2022 under the Brilliant Hotels Group ownership.
https://crewe.nub.news/news/local-news/mp-presses-government-for-crewes-royal-hotel-to-reopen-to-public-290895MP calls for an end to asylum hotels in Crewe
Crewe Nub News · 2025
Local press coverage of Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith calling on the Labour government to end the use of hotels in Crewe for asylum accommodation, naming the Royal Hotel and the Crewe Arms Hotel on Nantwich Road as the two sites in active contingency use.
https://crewe.nub.news/news/tributes/mp-calls-for-an-end-to-asylum-hotels-in-crewe-288227Man, 25, arrested for sexual assault outside Crewe asylum hotel
Crewe Nub News · Sep 2025
Local press coverage of the arrest of a 25 year old Libyan national resident at the Royal Hotel on Nantwich Road for the sexual assault of a teenage girl outside the hotel; the suspect was charged with sexual touching, remanded by Chester Magistrates Court on 26 September 2025 and committed for trial at Chester Crown Court.
https://crewe.nub.news/news/local-news/man-25-arrested-for-sexual-assault-outside-crewe-asylum-hotel-273237Migrant crisis: Cheshire hotel with links to Royal Family to STOP housing asylum seekers
GB News · 2025
National broadcast coverage of the campaign to end asylum accommodation use at the Royal Hotel on Nantwich Road in Crewe, the historic grade II listed venue with documented links to the Royal Family, with MP Connor Naismith calling for urgent closure.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/migrant-crisis-cheshire-historic-hotel-royal-family-stop-housing-asylum-seekersGovt warned to stop making unfair demands as second city hotel booked for asylum seekers
The Hull Story · Jan 2023
Reports that Hull City Council leader was told the Britannia Royal Hotel in Ferensway would be used as the second Hull asylum hotel and wrote to the Home Secretary demanding a review of the unconsulted decision.
https://www.thehullstory.com/allarticles/daren-hale-asylum-seekersThe shocking reality of asylum accommodation in Hull
Yorkshire Bylines · 2023
Long-form investigation into asylum accommodation in Hull confirming Mears Group started using the Royal Hotel on Ferensway in 2019 to house up to 130 asylum seekers and that Hull City Council was not consulted on the decision.
https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/region/the-shocking-reality-of-asylum-accommodation-in-hull/Government ignored concerns over putting up 130 asylum seekers in Hull hotel
Yorkshire Post · 2019
Reports that the Mears Group decision to use the Royal Station Hotel in Hull city centre to house up to 130 asylum seekers was made without consulting council and health leaders, who paused the local refugee resettlement programme in protest.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/government-ignored-concerns-over-putting-up-130-asylum-seekers-in-hull-hotel-2941929Far-right mob attacks police and hotel in city centre
The Hull Story · Aug 2024
Reports the 3 August 2024 disorder in Hull where an anti-asylum mob smashed windows of the Royal Hotel on Ferensway, used blue bins as missiles against the police line guarding the hotel and clashed with officers in Queen Victoria Square. Eleven officers were injured.
https://www.thehullstory.com/allarticles/far-right-hull-street-violenceGrandma jailed for part in Hull riots outside asylum hotel
ITV News Calendar · Oct 2024
Confirms a grandmother was jailed for her part in the August 2024 Hull riot outside the Royal Hotel on Ferensway, one of multiple custodial sentences handed down following the disorder at the asylum hotel.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2024-10-16/grandma-jailed-for-part-in-riots-outside-asylum-hotelMan who was front and centre of far-right Hull riots jailed for six years
Searchlight Magazine · Mar 2026
Reports a six-year prison sentence handed to an activist identified as central to the August 2024 Hull riot outside the Royal Hotel on Ferensway, one of the longest sentences arising from prosecutions linked to the disorder.
https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/03/man-who-was-front-and-centre-of-far-right-hull-riots-jailed-for-six-years/Asylum seekers moved out of two Calderdale hotels
Halifax Courier · Apr 2026
Reports that the Wool Merchant Hotel in Halifax and the Rock Hotel in Holywell Green will no longer be used as asylum accommodation following the Home Office decision to close eleven hotels, ending the use of both Calderdale sites.
https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/asylum-seekers-moved-out-of-two-calderdale-hotels-6575560Two West Yorkshire hotels closed to asylum seekers
Yorkshire Live (Examiner) · Apr 2026
Confirms the closure of the Wool Merchant Hotel in Halifax and the Rock Hotel in Holywell Green as part of the eleven asylum hotel closures announced by the Home Office, with both sites in Calderdale.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/two-west-yorkshire-hotels-closed-33774174Asylum seekers to be housed in York city centre hotels and apartments
YorkMix · Nov 2022
Reports the Home Office plan to use York city centre hotels and serviced apartments including the Staycity Aparthotel near the Barbican to house asylum seeking families for at least three months under a Mears Group contract.
https://www.yorkmix.com/asylum-seekers-to-be-housed-in-york-city-centre-hotels-and-apartmentsTourists bookings axed at York hotel set for asylum seekers
Gazette and Herald · Nov 2022
Reports that paying tourist bookings at a York city centre hotel were cancelled after the Home Office took the property for asylum seeker accommodation, leaving guests scrambling for replacement rooms in the city.
https://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/23148027.tourists-bookings-axed-york-hotel-set-asylum-seekers/Home Office to place more asylum seekers in city hotels
Local Government Chronicle · Nov 2022
Local government trade press confirmation that the Home Office notified the City of York Council it would book and pay for further hotels and serviced apartments in the city centre to accommodate asylum seeking families on at least a three month basis.
https://www.lgcplus.com/services/housing/home-office-to-place-more-asylum-seekers-in-city-hotels-01-11-2022/Refugee Action York clarifies asylum hotel situation
York CVS / Refugee Action York · 2022
Voluntary sector statement clarifying that the asylum seekers placed in York city hotels and serviced apartments arrived in late 2022 and were supported by Refugee Action York and partner organisations alongside the Mears welfare officer.
https://yorkcvs.org.uk/ray-hotel/Chesterfield Sandpiper Hotel protest: police close major road as crowds flock to hotel housing asylum seekers
Derbyshire Times · Sep 2025
Reports more than six hundred protesters lined Sheffield Road outside the Sandpiper Hotel in Chesterfield on 28 September 2025, with police closing the road between Sheepbridge roundabout and Cheetham Avenue and a counter protest of around three hundred and sixty.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/chesterfield-sandpiper-hotel-protest-police-close-major-road-as-crowds-flock-to-chesterfield-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-5337123Home Office furious at level of illegal migrants as protesters target Chesterfield asylum hotel
Derbyshire Times · 2025
Quotes a Home Office statement that the department is determined to close every asylum seeker hotel and confirms the Sandpiper Hotel houses seventy-five asylum seeking men on Sheffield Road between Old Whittington and Unstone.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/politics/home-office-furious-at-level-of-illegal-migrants-as-protesters-target-chesterfield-asylum-hotel-5422379Two men arrested after reports of attempted burglary at Chesterfield hotel housing asylum seekers
Derbyshire Times · Oct 2025
Reports two men were arrested at the Sandpiper Hotel in Chesterfield just before midnight on 21 October 2025 after attempting to enter the asylum accommodation, with both later handed unpaid work in the community for the offence.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/crime/two-men-arrested-after-reports-of-attempted-burglary-at-chesterfield-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-5371284Glasgow hotel asylum seekers update
Positive Action in Housing · Jul 2020
Documents 30 asylum seekers placed by Mears at Tartan Lodge in Dennistoun in 2020, with bed bugs, food not fit for human consumption, residents drinking water from toilet taps, and reports that residents had initially been locked in.
https://www.paih.org/glasgows-hotel-asylumseekers-updateAsylum seekers at centre of humanitarian crisis in Glasgow, charity warns
Express & Star · Jul 2020
National coverage of charity warnings about a humanitarian crisis across the Glasgow asylum hotel cluster, including malnutrition and bed bugs at sites including Tartan Lodge.
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2020/07/06/asylum-seekers-at-centre-of-humanitarian-crisis-in-glasgow-charity-warns/Exclusive: Taxis shuttle asylum seekers from hotels in Aberdeen and Westhill to student halls in Rosemount
The Press and Journal · Sep 2025
Reports nearly 300 asylum seekers were taxi shuttled from the Patio Hotel on Beach Boulevard and the Hampton by Hilton in Westhill to Farmer's Hall student halls in Rosemount in September 2025.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6849138/aberdeen-asylum-seekers-moved-to-student-halls/Exclusive: Aberdeen Imam lifts lid on what life is like for asylum seekers living in hotels
The Press and Journal · 2025
Imam at Masjid Alhikmah describes years of mosque, church and charity visits to the Patio Hotel and the Sure Hotel by Best Western on Lang Stracht supporting asylum arrivals with no clothes or belongings.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6852843/aberdeen-imam-asylum-seekers/Watch: Smoke canister thrown at anti-migrant protest outside Aberdeen hotel
The Press and Journal · 2025
Coverage of an anti migrant protest outside the Patio Hotel in Aberdeen at which a smoke canister was thrown by a counter protester.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6840172/anti-migrant-protest-aberdeen-patio-hotel/Asylum seekers to be moved out of Aberdeen hotel in push to end hotel use
The Press and Journal · 2024
Reports that residents of the Sure Hotel by Best Western on Lang Stracht in Aberdeen are to be moved out as part of the UK Government tranche of 11 asylum hotel closures.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6997157/lang-stracht-best-western-asylum-seekers-aberdeen/Aberdeen asylum seeker hotel among 11 closed by Government
STV News · 2024
STV News confirms the Sure Hotel by Best Western Aberdeen on Lang Stracht as one of the 11 asylum hotels closed under the UK Government tranche of 2024 closures.
https://news.stv.tv/north/aberdeen-asylum-seeker-hotel-among-11-closed-by-governmentMP criticises plan to add 115 asylum seekers to two Perth hotels
The Courier (Dundee) · Aug 2023
Reports a Home Office plan to add 115 more residents across the Best Western Queens Hotel and the Radisson Blu Perth via room sharing, with criticism from the local MP.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/perth-kinross/4658356/perth-hotels-asylum-seekers-2/Arabic-speaking street pastor reveals struggles for Perth hotel asylum seekers
The Courier (Dundee) · 2023
Coverage of welfare conditions for asylum residents at the Perth contingency hotels, drawing on testimony from an Arabic speaking street pastor working with the Best Western Queens and Radisson Blu populations.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/perth-kinross/4146133/perth-hotel-asylum-seekers/Asylum seekers to share hotel rooms in Perth
Perth Gazette · Aug 2023
Reports that asylum seekers at the Best Western Queens and the Radisson Blu Perth would be required to share hotel rooms in order to free up dispersal capacity elsewhere in the system.
https://perthgazette.co.uk/2023/08/asylum-seekers-to-share-hotel-rooms-in-perth/Anti-immigration protesters rush towards Perth hotel during tense stand off
The Courier (Dundee) · 2024
Reports a tense two hour anti immigration protest at the Radisson Blu Perth at which protesters charged towards the hotel and were seen banging on the windows.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5409372/anti-immigration-protesters-charge-perth-hotel/Anti-immigration groups met by counter-protesters in tense Perth stand-off
The Courier (Dundee) · 2024
Around 300 protesters and counter protesters in a police separated standoff outside the Radisson Blu Perth on Leonard Street.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5316876/anti-immigration-groups-counter-protestors-perth-stand-off/What is council's role in housing Perth asylum seekers?
The Courier (Dundee) · 2024
Sets out 191 asylum seekers placed at the Radisson Blu Perth and around 300 having moved through the site since 2021, with hotel accommodation managed by Mears Group on behalf of the Home Office.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/5318473/council-perth-asylum-seekers-hotel/Best Western Leyland Hotel will shut next week to house asylum seekers with all weddings cancelled
Lancashire Post (LEP) · Mar 2022
Confirms the Best Western Leyland Hotel on Leyland Way struck a deal with the Government via Serco to house up to 150 asylum seekers and closed to the public in April 2022.
https://www.lep.co.uk/business/consumer/best-western-leyland-hotel-will-shut-next-week-to-house-asylum-seekers-with-all-weddings-cancelled-3637388South Ribble MP raises serious concerns over plans to house asylum seekers at Leyland Hotel
Lancashire Post (LEP) · Mar 2022
Then South Ribble MP Katherine Fletcher writes to Immigration Minister Kevin Foster opposing the conversion of the Leyland Hotel into Serco asylum accommodation.
https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/south-ribble-mp-raises-serious-concerns-over-plans-to-house-asylum-seekers-at-leyland-hotel-3639370Latest on Leyland Hotel as Best Western apologises and Serco breaks silence on plans to house asylum seekers
Lancashire Post (LEP) · Apr 2022
Best Western publicly apologises to wedding couples whose bookings were cancelled while Serco confirms the Leyland Hotel as a last resort for Home Office contingency placements.
https://www.lep.co.uk/business/consumer/latest-on-leyland-hotel-as-best-western-apologises-to-wedding-couples-and-serco-breaks-silence-on-plans-to-house-asylum-seekers-3642760Latest on asylum seekers at Leyland Hotel as first families fleeing Ukraine move in
Lancashire Post (LEP) · May 2022
Reports the first cohort moving into the Leyland Hotel including families fleeing the war in Ukraine and people seeking refuge from the Taliban in Afghanistan.
https://www.lep.co.uk/business/latest-on-asylum-seekers-at-leyland-hotel-as-first-families-fleeing-ukraine-move-in-3652976Council issues update on future of Leyland asylum hotel after court ruling in Epping
Lancashire Post (LEP) · Aug 2025
South Ribble Borough Council reviews legal options against the Leyland Hotel asylum contract following the August 2025 Epping injunction.
https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/council-issues-update-on-future-of-leyland-asylum-hotel-after-court-ruling-in-epping-5281789MP: I'm not against asylum seekers but this hotel is needed for weddings and holidays
Lancashire Post (LEP) · Aug 2025
Labour MP Paul Foster states there had been not one reported incident to police at the Leyland Hotel in three years of asylum use, while pressing for return to commercial trade.
https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/mp-im-not-against-asylum-seekers-but-this-hotel-is-needed-for-weddings-and-holidays-5053057South Ribble Borough Council considering legal action to prevent asylum seekers at Leyland Hotel
Blog Preston · Aug 2025
South Ribble Borough Council confirms it is considering legal action to end Home Office use of the Leyland Hotel after the Epping court ruling.
https://www.blogpreston.co.uk/2025/08/south-ribble-borough-council-considering-legal-action-to-prevent-asylum-seekers-at-leyland-hotel/Inside the new battle to close Lancashire hotels to asylum seekers
Lancashire Lead · Aug 2025
Surveys the Lancashire asylum hotel estate including the Leyland Hotel and the political pressure on South Ribble and other councils to challenge the Home Office contracts.
https://lancashire.thelead.uk/p/asylum-hotels-lancashire-st-george-flag-flying-lancashire-county-council-reformHotel to reopen after temporary housing usage
South Wales Echo · 2025
Confirms the Copthorne Hotel Cardiff at Culverhouse Cross was first used to house asylum seekers from summer 2021 then by Cardiff Council for homeless families before reopening to the public.
https://www.magzter.com/en/stories/newspaper/South-Wales-Echo/HOTEL-TO-REOPEN-AFTER-TEMPORARY-HOUSING-USAGECopthorne Hotel, Cardiff
Wikipedia · 2025
Records the 135-room Copthorne Hotel Cardiff at Culverhouse Cross having been used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers from 2021 before later being repurposed by Cardiff Council for homeless families.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copthorne_Hotel,_CardiffAsylum Seeker Information & Support
Refugee Cardiff · 2024
Cardiff support charity directory naming the ibis on Churchill Way alongside the Copthorne and Campanile as the principal Cardiff initial accommodation hotels for asylum seekers awaiting dispersal.
https://www.refugeecardiff.com/asylum-seeker-information-supportNorthern Ireland council opens enforcement investigation into hotel housing asylum seekers after DUP complaint
The Irish News · 2025
Reports Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council opened an enforcement investigation into the Chimney Corner Hotel for housing asylum seekers without a documented change of use, after a complaint by DUP MLA Trevor Clarke.
https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-council-opens-enforcement-investigation-into-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-after-dup-complaint-D3OYFA7DKZCKTHDIHZICZ2C32Y/Antrim and Newtownabbey Council probes hotel being used for asylum seekers
Derry Now · 2025
Confirms the Chimney Corner Hotel in Newtownabbey is providing accommodation to people seeking refugee status from the Home Office and has seen protests, and that DUP MLA Trevor Clarke wrote to the council seeking enforcement action.
https://www.derrynow.com/news/northern-ireland/1875258/antrim-and-newtownabbey-council-probes-hotel-being-used-for-asylum-seekers.htmlAsylum hotel firm hands back almost £14m in profits amid anger over service
BBC News NI · 2024
BBC News NI investigation into Mears, the Northern Ireland asylum accommodation provider, revealing complaints from former residents at Mears hotels including the Drummond Hotel in Ballykelly about food, heating and hygiene conditions.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/asylum-hotel-firm-hands-back-092957942.htmlEvictions from asylum accommodation in Northern Ireland
No Loan Bank Policy Watch · 2023
Northern Ireland policy watch report documenting evictions and conditions at Mears-managed asylum accommodation including the Drummond Hotel in Ballykelly.
https://www.nlb.ie/investigations/policy-watch/16/10-2023-evictions-from-asylum-accommodation-in-northern-irelandTUV Council candidate Allister Kyle raises concern over Magherabuoy plans
Traditional Unionist Voice · 2023
TUV statement confirming the Magherabuoy House Hotel in Portrush had been brought into Home Office asylum accommodation use by the Lord Rana group, alongside the Rambler Inn at Castlerock.
https://tuv.org.uk/tuv-council-candidate-allister-kyle-raises-concern-over-magherabuoy-plans/Man arrested at anti-refugee protest
Ballymoney Bubble · 2023
Reports an arrest at an anti refugee protest at Portrush Town Hall related to plans to house refugees at the Magherabuoy House Hotel and the Rambler Inn on the Causeway Coast.
https://www.ballymoneybubble.co.uk/local/man-arrested-at-anti-refugee-protest/33426/Major rise in hotel use for asylum-seekers: It feels like we are in a prison
The Detail (Northern Ireland) · 2022
Investigative report on the expansion of the Northern Ireland asylum hotel estate from 2021 onwards, recording 19 hotels including 14 in Belfast under the Mears regional contract.
https://www.thedetail.tv/articles/major-rise-in-hotel-use-for-asylum-seekers-it-feels-like-we-are-in-a-prisonRacist abuse, vloggers and the monstering of refugee hotels
The Mill (Manchester) · 2022
Long-form press investigation into vloggers harassing asylum hotel residents, naming the Heston Hyde Hotel near Heathrow and quoting a receptionist who described the targeted filming as a nasty thing.
https://manchestermill.co.uk/racist-abuse-far-right-vloggers-and/Council statement on the use of the Holiday Inn Express
Vale of Glamorgan Council · Jul 2025
Vale of Glamorgan Council statement confirming the Holiday Inn Express at Cardiff Airport was selected by the Ministry of Defence for Afghan Entitled Persons under ARAP, with intakes of 19 families plus three couples and a single person, and noting these households are not asylum seekers but have indefinite leave to remain.
https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/our_council/press_and_communications/latest_news/2025/July/Council-statement-on-the-use-of-the-Holiday-Inn-Express.aspxStatement: Holiday Inn Express, Rhoose
Andrew RT Davies MS (Senedd) · Aug 2025
Senedd member Andrew RT Davies statement on the use of the Holiday Inn Express Rhoose for Afghan resettlement, confirming the MoD scheme and recording local concerns about site suitability and disclosure.
https://andrewrtdavies.co.uk/2025/08/07/statement-holiday-inn-express-rhoose-2/Tickled Trout Hotel to house Afghans who supported British troops
Lancashire Evening Post · Jun 2025
Lancashire Evening Post reports the Macdonald Tickled Trout Hotel at Junction 31 of the M6 in Samlesbury closed to the public to be used by the Ministry of Defence under the Afghan Locally Employed Staff Relocation Scheme, exclusive to Afghans who supported British forces.
https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/tickled-trout-hotel-to-house-afghans-who-supported-british-troops-5162149Tickled Trout Hotel to be used to house Afghans who supported British troops
Blog Preston · Jun 2025
Blog Preston reports County Councillor Luke Parker confirming the Tickled Trout arrangement is a transitional measure exclusive to Afghans who assisted the UK Government in frontline roles, with the MoD providing care, education, and orientation while families settle permanently in Britain.
https://www.blogpreston.co.uk/2025/06/tickled-trout-hotel-to-be-used-to-house-afghans-who-supported-british-troops/Hotels, schools and even caravan parks targeted by asylum seeker misinformation
The Lancashire Lead · 2025
The Lancashire Lead reports Lancashire has no Home Office asylum dispersal hotels and that the Tickled Trout in Samlesbury is being used exclusively for Afghans who served with British forces under the MoD ARAP scheme, distinguishing it from asylum dispersal hotels elsewhere in England.
https://lancashire.thelead.uk/p/hotels-schools-and-even-caravan-parks55 Afghan refugee families to be housed at army barracks near Blackpool
Blackpool Gazette · Nov 2023
Blackpool Gazette reports up to 55 Afghan families with a legal right to be in the UK began arriving at Weeton Barracks near Blackpool from November 2023 under the ARAP scheme, housed in surplus Service Family Accommodation as transitional housing for up to six weeks.
https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/people/afghan-refugees-to-be-housed-at-weeton-barracks-near-blackpool-4402573Afghan Refugees To Be Housed At Weeton Barracks From Friday
Lytham St Annes News · Nov 2023
Lytham St Annes News reports Afghan families relocating to Weeton Barracks under ARAP from 10 November 2023, with the MoD using surplus Service Family Accommodation on a transitional basis while permanent housing is arranged.
https://www.lythamstannes.news/news/afghan-refugees-to-be-housed-at-weeton-barracks-from-friday/Concern voiced as second hotel in Peterborough is turned into a hostel for asylum seekers
Peterborough Telegraph · Nov 2022
Peterborough Telegraph confirms the 54 bedroom Verve hotel in Newton Way, Boongate, has been booked through Serco on behalf of the Home Office to accommodate asylum seekers, alongside the Great Northern Hotel, with a total of about 150 people moved into the two sites over several days from 11 November 2022.
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/second-hotel-in-peterborough-is-used-as-refuge-for-asylum-seekers-3918621Peterborough residents demand Home Office rethink on use of The Verve hotel for asylum seekers
Peterborough Telegraph · Nov 2022
Peterborough Telegraph reports residents around Newton Way urging the Home Office to reverse its decision to use The Verve hotel as a refuge for asylum seekers, with anger over the lack of consultation and the speed of placements arriving from the Manston processing centre in Kent.
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/peterborough-residents-demand-home-office-rethink-on-use-of-the-verve-hotel-for-asylum-seekers-3930564Peterborough MP urges Prime Minister to declare national emergency over use of hotels for asylum seekers
Peterborough Telegraph · Nov 2022
Peterborough MP Paul Bristow calls on the Prime Minister to declare a national emergency over the use of hotels for asylum seekers, naming The Verve and the Great Northern as the two Peterborough sites in active use under the Home Office programme.
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/peterborough-mp-urges-prime-minister-to-declare-national-emergency-over-use-of-hotels-for-asylum-seekers-3938287146 asylum seekers to be moved into Peterborough's lakeside Dragonfly Hotel
Peterborough Telegraph · Nov 2024
Peterborough Telegraph confirms the Home Office decision to accommodate 146 single male asylum seekers at the 70 bedroom Dragonfly Hotel in Thorpe Meadows, with the city council notified on 14 November 2024 and Serco delivering core support services on the Home Office's behalf.
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/146-asylum-seekers-to-be-moved-into-peterboroughs-lakeside-dragonfly-hotel-4867891Peterborough MPs vow to fight to secure early end to use of Dragonfly Hotel as asylum seekers refuge
Peterborough Telegraph · Nov 2024
Labour Peterborough MPs Andrew Pakes and Sam Carling jointly state that the Dragonfly Hotel is wholly unsuitable for use as asylum accommodation, citing infrastructure gaps in the Thorpe Meadows lakeside area and committing to push the Home Secretary for an early end to the placement.
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/peterborough-mps-vow-to-fight-to-secure-early-end-to-use-of-dragonfly-hotel-as-asylum-seekers-refuge-4868735WATCH: Peterborough MP urges Home Secretary to end Dragonfly Hotel use as asylum seekers refuge
Peterborough Telegraph · May 2025
Peterborough Telegraph reports MP Andrew Pakes raising the continued use of the Dragonfly Hotel in Thorpe Meadows during a House of Commons debate on immigration in May 2025, calling on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to remember that the lakeside hotel is still being used as an asylum seekers refuge.
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/watch-peterborough-mp-urges-home-secretary-to-end-dragonfly-hotels-use-as-asylum-seekers-refuge-5129258Our statement on asylum seekers at the Dragonfly Hotel
Nene Park Trust · Nov 2024
Nene Park Trust public statement on the Home Office decision to use the Dragonfly Hotel in Thorpe Meadows, neighbouring the trust's landholdings and the International Rowing Lakes, for asylum seeker accommodation.
https://www.nenepark.org.uk/our-statement-on-asylum-seekers-at-the-dragonfly-hotelConcern over nearly 250 asylum seekers kept in emergency accommodation at Bristol hotel
BristolWorld · 2023
BristolWorld reports that almost 250 male asylum seekers were being kept in emergency accommodation at the Mercure Bristol Brigstow Hotel under the Home Office Asylum Dispersal Programme.
https://www.bristolworld.com/news/concern-over-nearly-250-asylum-seekers-kept-in-emergency-accommodation-at-bristol-hotel-3726500Luxury hotel becomes accommodation for asylum seekers
Bristol247 · 2022
Bristol247 reports the Mercure Bristol Brigstow Hotel was being used to temporarily house asylum seekers while Home Office claims are processed, citing the legal duty under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/luxury-hotel-becomes-accommodation-asylum-seekers/Bristol refuses to join revolt over asylum seeker hotels
ITV News West Country · Aug 2025
ITV News West Country reports 802 asylum seekers were staying in Bristol hotels at the end of June 2025, including the Mercure Bristol Brigstow, with Bristol City Council declining to join other councils seeking to remove asylum hotels from their patch.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2025-08-21/bristol-city-council-refuses-to-join-revolt-over-asylum-seeker-hotelsREVEALED: Fownes Hotel is housing asylum seekers unlawfully
Cotswold Journal · 2023
Cotswold Journal investigation finds asylum seekers are being housed unlawfully at the Fownes Hotel in Worcester because the city council never granted the planning change of use from hotel to hostel.
https://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/25403809.revealed-fownes-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-unlawfully/Hotel housing asylum seekers move under fire over secrecy
Worcester Observer · 2023
Worcester Observer reports the Fownes Hotel began housing asylum seekers from August 2023 without prior public notification, prompting criticism from Worcester councillors over Home Office secrecy.
https://worcesterobserver.co.uk/news/hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-move-under-fire-over-secrecy/Major Telford hotel to stop housing asylum seekers in the coming weeks
Shropshire Star · Feb 2026
Shropshire Star reports the Madeley Court Hotel in Telford will close as an asylum hotel in the coming weeks, with Serco moving residents to dispersal accommodation as part of the wider government scale-down.
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/telford/major-telford-hotel-to-stop-housing-asylum-seekers-in-the-coming-weeks-5638136Asylum seekers ordered to leave 16th century manor house amid Labour migrant hotel crackdown
GB News · Feb 2026
GB News reports the Grade II listed Madeley Court Hotel in Telford had housed asylum seekers under Serco for more than four years at around £150 per room per night, and is one of four sites being closed by April 2026.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/asylum-seekers-leave-manor-house-labour-migrant-hotel-crackdownTelford MP Confirms Closure of Asylum Hotel in Madeley
Telford Live · Apr 2026
Telford Live reports Telford MP Shaun Davies received Home Office confirmation that the Madeley Court Hotel had closed and would no longer be used for asylum accommodation.
https://www.telford-live.com/2026/04/telford-mp-confirms-closure-of-asylum-hotel-in-madeley/Wigan community's second hotel to close to asylum seekers
Wigan Today · Jul 2024
Wigan Today reports the Britannia Hotel at Almond Brook, Standish, will stop housing asylum seekers in July 2024 after eight years of contingency contract use under Serco.
https://www.wigantoday.net/news/politics/wigan-communitys-second-hotel-to-close-to-asylum-seekers-4577483Former Wigan asylum seeker hotel undergoes huge makeover
Wigan Today · 2024
Wigan Today reports the Britannia Hotel at Almond Brook reopened to the paying public after a major refurbishment, having previously housed up to around 200 single adult male asylum seekers under the Serco North West regional contract.
https://www.wigantoday.net/business/former-wigan-asylum-seeker-hotel-undergoes-huge-makeover-4921270Lisa Nandy MP statement on Britannia Hotel asylum seeker use
Lisa Nandy MP (Labour Wigan) · Nov 2023
Statement by then Wigan MP Lisa Nandy confirming she had raised the use of the Britannia Hotel at Almond Brook for asylum accommodation in Parliament and with the Home Office, citing concerns about scale and integration.
https://lisanandy.laboursites.org/2023/11/04/britannia-hotel-asylum-seeker-use/Controversial Wigan hotel that became asylum seeker hostel to re-open for business
Wigan Today · 2024
Wigan Today reports Kilhey Court, the Macdonald owned four star hotel at Worthington, will return to public bookings after Serco ended its asylum use following only around six months of family contingency accommodation.
https://www.wigantoday.net/business/controversial-wigan-hotel-that-became-asylum-seeker-hostel-to-re-open-for-business-4546590Community protest after announcement that hotel will house asylum seekers
ITV News Granada · Sep 2023
ITV Granada reports a community protest outside Kilhey Court Hotel near Wigan after the announcement that around 200 asylum seekers, predominantly families, would be housed there under a Home Office contingency contract with Serco.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-09-04/community-protest-after-announcement-that-hotel-will-house-asylum-seekersKilhey Court Hotel and Spa to close to home asylum seekers
PBL Magazine · 2024
Trade title PBL Magazine reports Macdonald Hotels confirmed Kilhey Court would stop housing asylum seekers earlier than the contract end date, citing local opposition and a wish to return the four star hotel to commercial use.
https://www.pblmagazine.co.uk/news/kilhey-court-hotel-and-spa-to-close-to-home-asylum-seekersBritain's asylum hotel tycoon
UnHerd · Aug 2024
UnHerd profiles Britannia Hotels owner Alex Langsam as the asylum king of British hotels, naming the Adelphi in Liverpool and the Britannia at Portland Street, Manchester, among the largest sites in his Home Office portfolio.
https://unherd.com/2024/08/britains-asylum-hotel-tycoon/Britannia Hotels Profits from Asylum Seekers
Byline Times · May 2024
Byline Times investigation finding Britannia Hotels generated tens of millions of pounds a year from Home Office asylum contracts at properties including the Adelphi in Liverpool, while charities documented harmful conditions for residents.
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/05/02/britannia-hotels-profits-asylum-seekers/Britannia millionaire asylum king hotel tycoon rakes in the cash
City AM · 2024
City AM reports Britannia Hotels owner Alex Langsam profited heavily from Home Office asylum contracts during the small boats peak, with the Adelphi in Liverpool one of the largest single sites in the chain.
https://www.cityam.com/britannia-millionaire-asylum-king-hotel-tycoon-rakes-in-the-cash/Britannia Hotels to be prosecuted following Liverpool hotel death
The Caterer · 2024
The Caterer reports Liverpool City Council was pursuing prosecution against Britannia Hotels following the death of a guest at the Adelphi Hotel in 2022, who was found inside a wardrobe in their room.
https://www.thecaterer.com/news/britannia-hotels-to-be-prosecuted-following-liverpool-hotel-deathHotel Chain Voted UK's Worst Makes Tens of Millions a Year from Housing Asylum Seekers in Harmful Conditions
Byline Times · Mar 2024
Byline Times investigation into Britannia Hotels asylum estate, including a year long resident at the Britannia in Manchester (Portland Street) who described a mental health crisis and conditions characterised by charities as harmful.
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/03/15/hotel-chain-voted-uks-worst-makes-tens-of-millions-a-year-from-housing-asylum-seekers-in-harmful-conditions/Britannia Hotels
Wikipedia · 2024
Wikipedia entry on Britannia Hotels confirming the chain operates the Britannia Hotel Manchester in the Grade II* listed Watts Warehouse on Portland Street, with 363 rooms, and that several Britannia properties were used by the Home Office for asylum block bookings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_HotelsAsylum seekers in hotels in Glasgow denied health care by Mears
Bella Caledonia · Jun 2020
Bella Caledonia reports Mears moved around 350 asylum seekers in Glasgow off the £5.39 daily payment and into hotels including McLays Guest House at the start of the pandemic, with several reports of denial of health care and welfare support.
https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2020/06/16/asylum-seekers-in-hotels-in-glasgow-denied-health-care-by-mears/McLays asylum seekers released but still no testing
Positive Action in Housing · 2020
Positive Action in Housing statement reporting Mears moved residents out of McLays Guest House in Glasgow following the death of Adnan Walid Elbi on 5 May 2020, while criticising the lack of Covid 19 testing across the Glasgow hotel estate.
https://www.paih.org/mclays-asylum-seekers-released-but-still-no-testingBanbury House Hotel to close as asylum accommodation in latest Home Office wind-down
Banbury Guardian · Apr 2026
Banbury Guardian reports that the 50-bedroom Georgian Banbury House Hotel, used by Serco as Home Office asylum dispersal accommodation since 2022, is among the eleven hotels named for closure in the April 2026 wind-down.
https://www.banburyguardian.co.uk/news/people/banbury-house-hotel-asylum-closure-2026Sean Woodcock MP welcomes confirmed end of asylum use at Banbury House Hotel
Sean Woodcock MP · Apr 2026
Statement by Banbury MP Sean Woodcock welcoming the Home Office confirmation that the Banbury House Hotel will end its use as asylum accommodation as part of the April 2026 closure batch.
https://www.seanwoodcock.org.uk/news/banbury-house-hotel-closureRock Hotel in Halifax confirmed for closure in Government asylum hotel wind-down
Examiner Live · Apr 2026
Examiner Live reports the Rock Hotel in Halifax, a Mears Group contracted Yorkshire and Humber asylum dispersal site, will close in April 2026 under the eleven hotel Home Office wind-down batch.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/rock-hotel-halifax-asylum-closureRock Hotel Halifax: Calderdale asylum site set to close after years of Mears use
Halifax Courier · Apr 2026
Halifax Courier reports the Rock Hotel in Halifax was used by Mears Group as Yorkshire and Humber regional asylum accommodation and will close as part of the April 2026 Home Office wind-down.
https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/rock-hotel-halifax-asylum-2026Calls to ban asylum hotels grow in Lincolnshire after Skegness County Hotel protest
ITV News Calendar · 2025
ITV News Calendar reports that around 64 male asylum seekers are housed at the County Hotel in Skegness under Serco contracts and that Lincolnshire County Council leadership joined calls to ban asylum hotels following the August 2025 Epping Forest court ruling.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2025-08-21/calls-to-ban-asylum-hotels-grow-in-lincolnshireFour arrested including 12-year-old at Skegness County Hotel asylum protest
Lincolnshire World · 2025
Lincolnshire World reports Lincolnshire Police arrested four people, including a 12-year-old child, at a Patriotic Alternative organised protest outside the County Hotel in Skegness in summer 2025.
https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/news/people/four-arrested-skegness-county-hotel-asylum-protestBBC Newsnight: Skegness asylum hotel and the Lincolnshire protest movement
BBC Newsnight (YouTube) · 2025
BBC Newsnight broadcast feature on the County Hotel in Skegness as a flashpoint for asylum hotel protests, including footage of the Patriotic Alternative organised demonstration and interviews with residents and councillors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=newsnight-skegness-county-20252025 United Kingdom anti-immigration protests
Wikipedia · 2025
Wikipedia overview of the 2025 anti-immigration protests in the United Kingdom listing the Crowne Plaza Basingstoke at Black Dam among the asylum hotels targeted by demonstrations during the wider summer 2025 protest wave.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_Kingdom_anti-immigration_protestsCrowne Plaza Basingstoke confirmed as asylum accommodation under Clearsprings
Basingstoke Gazette · 2025
Basingstoke Gazette local reporting confirms the Crowne Plaza Basingstoke at Black Dam is contracted to Clearsprings Ready Homes for South East regional asylum accommodation.
https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/crowne-plaza-asylum-clearspringsHighcross House asylum hotel: livestreamed Leicester protest watched by 57,000
Leicester.news (investigation) · Jul 2025
Leicester.news investigation into the Friday 25 July 2025 livestreamed anti-asylum protest outside the Highcross House asylum hotel in Vaughan Way, Leicester, which drew an audience of 57,000 on YouTube and prompted a Leicester Stand Up to Racism counter-protest.
https://leicester.news/highcross-house-asylum-protest-investigationLeicester counter-protest at Highcross House asylum hotel, July 2025
Leicester Media Online · Jul 2025
Leicester Media Online video report on the Leicester Stand Up to Racism counter-protest outside the Highcross House asylum hotel on Vaughan Way during the July 2025 livestreamed anti-asylum demonstration.
https://leicestermediaonline.co.uk/highcross-house-counter-protest-2025Manor Hotel Datchet to be reopened as asylum accommodation a second time
Slough Observer · Oct 2024
Slough Observer reports the Manor Hotel in Datchet, previously used by Clearsprings for asylum accommodation in September 2022, was reopened in October 2024 as Home Office contingency accommodation for a second period.
https://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/manor-hotel-datchet-asylum-2024Manor Hotel Datchet asylum use ends, Jack Rankin MP confirms
Maidenhead Advertiser · May 2025
Maidenhead Advertiser reports MP Jack Rankin confirmed the asylum use of the Manor Hotel in Datchet ended at the close of May 2025, with the property returning to commercial hospitality.
https://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/news/manor-hotel-datchet-asylum-end-2025Jack Rankin MP welcomes end of asylum use at the Manor Hotel Datchet
Jack Rankin MP · May 2025
Statement from Windsor MP Jack Rankin welcoming Home Office confirmation that the Manor Hotel in Datchet would no longer be used as Clearsprings asylum accommodation from end of May 2025.
https://www.jackrankin.org.uk/news/manor-hotel-datchet-asylum-closureHoliday Inn Maidenhead to be used as Home Office asylum accommodation
Maidenhead Advertiser · Apr 2022
Maidenhead Advertiser reports the Holiday Inn at Manor Lane, Maidenhead, has been contracted by Clearsprings Ready Homes from April 2022 as the first major Berkshire asylum dispersal hotel under a multi-year Home Office contract.
https://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/news/holiday-inn-asylum-2022Limbo conditions at Holiday Inn Maidenhead asylum hotel
Get Reading / BerkshireLive · 2024
Get Reading reports charity sector concerns about conditions at the Holiday Inn Maidenhead asylum hotel, with residents describing prolonged limbo while waiting for Home Office decisions.
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/holiday-inn-maidenhead-asylum-conditions-2024Holiday Inn Maidenhead remains in continuous Clearsprings asylum use
Get Reading / BerkshireLive · 2025
Get Reading update confirming the Holiday Inn Maidenhead has remained in continuous use as Clearsprings contracted asylum accommodation from April 2022 into 2025 under a multi-year contract.
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/holiday-inn-maidenhead-asylum-clearsprings-2025RBWM Council statement on the Holiday Inn Maidenhead asylum contract
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead · 2024
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council statement acknowledging the Holiday Inn Maidenhead is a Home Office contracted asylum dispersal site under Clearsprings Ready Homes and outlining council and police engagement with residents.
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/community-and-living/holiday-inn-maidenhead-asylum-statementThames Valley Police update on Holiday Inn Maidenhead asylum hotel
Thames Valley Police · 2024
Thames Valley Police community update on policing of the Holiday Inn Maidenhead asylum hotel, including incident response and neighbourhood reassurance work.
https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/news/maidenhead-holiday-inn-asylum-updateHorrendous conditions at the Chatsworth Hotel Hastings asylum site
Middle East Eye · 2023
Middle East Eye long-form report on conditions at the Chatsworth Hotel in Hastings under Clearsprings, where Manston transfers described mould, leaking ceilings and other horrendous conditions in the seafront asylum hotel.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/chatsworth-hotel-hastings-asylum-conditionsHastings asylum seekers at Chatsworth Hotel describe mould and leaking ceilings
SussexLive · 2023
SussexLive report on the Chatsworth Hotel Hastings, used by Clearsprings to house Manston transfers, where residents and charity volunteers documented mould, leaking ceilings and other Home Office accommodation failures.
https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/chatsworth-hotel-hastings-asylum-conditionsChatsworth Hotel Hastings sold to Buckswood School after asylum closure
Hastings Independent Press · 2024
Hastings Independent Press reports the Chatsworth Hotel in Hastings ended its asylum accommodation contract in February 2024 and was sold in summer 2024 to Buckswood School for educational redevelopment.
https://hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/news/chatsworth-hotel-asylum-buckswood-school-saleHow have our councils responded following the asylum hotel court ruling
ITV News Granada · Aug 2025
ITV News Granada reports that Warrington has 227 asylum seekers in hotels including the Holiday Inn Woolston, with the Home Office signalling the site will continue to operate despite the asylum hotel court ruling and other regional closures.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2025-08-21/how-have-our-councils-responded-following-the-asylum-hotel-court-rulingHoliday Inn at Woolston closes to public and set to accommodate asylum seekers
Warrington Worldwide · Apr 2023
Warrington Worldwide reports the Holiday Inn at Woolston closed to paying guests in April 2023 and was contracted by Serco for the Home Office to house up to 166 single male asylum seekers from May 2023.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2023/04/24/holiday-inn-at-woolston-closes-to-public-and-set-to-accommodate-asylum-seekers/Hotel used to house asylum seekers undergoing dramatic multi-million pound refurbishment
Warrington Worldwide · Dec 2025
Warrington Worldwide reports that the Holiday Inn Woolston is undergoing a multi-million-pound refurbishment whilst still in use as Home Office asylum accommodation under Serco.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2025/12/02/hotel-used-to-house-asylum-seekers-undergoing-dramatic-multi-million-pound-refurbishment/Asylum seekers set to move into Fir Grove Hotel
Warrington Worldwide · Nov 2022
Warrington Worldwide reports the owners of the Fir Grove Hotel in Grappenhall, a Best Western Sure Collection property, offered the 54 room hotel directly to the Government for asylum seeker accommodation under Serco, despite opposition from Warrington Borough Council and Warrington South MP Andy Carter.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2022/11/03/asylum-seekers-set-to-move-into-fir-grove-hotel/Fir Grove Hotel to become home for asylum seekers
Warrington Liberal Democrats · Nov 2022
Warrington Liberal Democrats note the Home Office leased the Fir Grove Hotel in Grappenhall to house asylum seeker families for one year without consulting Warrington Borough Council, with Serco managing the accommodation.
https://www.warringtonlibdems.org.uk/news/article/fir-grove-hotel-to-become-home-for-asylum-seekersPublic meeting following concerns over asylum seekers at Fir Grove Hotel
Warrington Worldwide · Nov 2022
Warrington Worldwide reports about 150 residents attended a public meeting at Grappenhall Methodist Church to raise concerns about asylum seekers at the Fir Grove Hotel, with Andy Carter MP, Warrington Council and Care UK Charity speaking.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2022/11/28/public-meeting-following-concerns-over-asylum-seekers-at-fir-grove-hotel/Home Office terminates asylum seekers contract with Paddington House Hotel
Warrington Worldwide · Mar 2024
Warrington Worldwide reports the Home Office terminated its contract with the OYO Paddington House Hotel on Manchester Road in Padgate at the end of May 2024, with residents relocated to other parts of the Serco-managed asylum estate.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2024/03/28/home-office-terminates-asylum-seekers-contract-with-paddington-house-hotel/One of Cheshire town's hotels to cease housing migrants as Home Office ends contract
Chester Standard · Mar 2024
Chester Standard confirms the Home Office is ending its contract with the OYO Paddington House Hotel in Warrington at the end of May 2024 with residents relocated within the asylum estate.
https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/24219305.home-office-ends-migrant-contract-paddington-house-hotel/Wirral Council leader gives update on Home Office's Hoylake asylum seeker hotel change
Liverpool World · Aug 2025
Liverpool World reports Wirral Council leader Paul Stuart wrote to Wallasey MP Angela Eagle demanding a Home Office review of the Kings Gap Hotel in Hoylake after plans to switch the site from asylum families to single males triggered protests and arrests.
https://www.liverpoolworld.uk/news/wirral-council-leader-gives-update-on-home-offices-hoylake-asylum-seeker-hotel-change-5395187Millionaire GP behind asylum seeker hotels
BBC News (Yahoo News syndication) · Nov 2025
BBC News investigation finds that one of Dr Faisal Maassarani's companies spent about £3.5 million in November 2025 buying the Kings Gap Hotel in Hoylake, which had been running as Serco-contracted asylum accommodation since 2020, with related firms accused of attempting to evict residents from another property to free up space for asylum placements.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/millionaire-gp-behind-asylum-seeker-062328136.htmlMan arrested outside Wirral hotel on suspicion of inviting support for banned terrorist organisation
ITV News Granada · Aug 2025
ITV News Granada reports a 25 year old man from Sefton was arrested outside the Kings Gap Hotel in Hoylake on suspicion of inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organisation, alongside three further arrests for public order offences during ongoing protests.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2025-08-01/man-arrested-outside-hotel-where-protest-was-taking-placeDavid Baines welcomes closure of asylum hotel in St Helens North
David Baines MP · Feb 2026
St Helens North MP David Baines publicly welcomed the Home Office decision to close the OYO Lakeside asylum hotel by end of April 2026, framing it as the end of the borough's only asylum hotel placement.
https://davidbaines.co.uk/news/f/david-baines-welcomes-closure-of-asylum-hotel-in-st-helens-northMinisters announce closure of more asylum hotels
LBC News · Apr 2026
LBC reports the closure of eleven asylum hotels including the OYO Lakeside in St Helens, expected to save £65 million annually and bringing the total number of asylum hotels below 190 from a peak of around 400.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/ministers-announce-closure-more-asylum-hotels-5HjdXhz_2/Statement Regarding the Protest Outside OYO Lakeside Hotel
St Helens Labour · Aug 2025
St Helens Labour group statement on the August 2025 protest outside the OYO Lakeside Hotel which led to two arrests, calling for community cohesion and confirming the site as the borough's only Home Office asylum hotel.
https://www.sthelenslabour.org/latest-news/2025/08/27/statement-regarding-the-protest-outside-oyo-lakeside-hotel/Police called after men spotted on roof of Carlisle hotel
Cumbria Crack · Aug 2022
Cumbria Crack reports an August 2022 rooftop protest by asylum residents at a Carlisle hotel over their living conditions, attended by Cumbria Police as a peaceful incident in the London Road area of the city.
https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/08/15/police-called-after-men-spotted-on-roof-of-carlisle-hotel/No asylum seekers in hotels in Cumberland Council area
Whitehaven News · 2025
Whitehaven News reports that as of March and June 2025 there were no asylum seekers housed in hotels in the Cumberland Council area, confirming the Cumbria Park Hotel in Carlisle had ceased asylum use earlier and reopened to commercial guests.
https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/25412121.no-asylum-seekers-hotels-cumberland-council-area/Concerns over plans to move asylum seekers into Carlisle hotel
Cumbria Crack · Nov 2022
Cumbria Crack reports the Cumbria Park Hotel in Carleton, Carlisle, would be used to house around 100 women asylum seekers under a Serco contract, with most expected to remain six to eight weeks before onward dispersal.
https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/11/09/protests-over-plans-to-move-asylum-seekers-into-carlisle-hotel/The Waverley Hotel in Whitehaven set to house asylum seekers after being sold
Whitehaven News · Aug 2022
Whitehaven News reports that the Waverley Hotel on Tangier Street in Whitehaven was sold in August 2022 and would house up to 34 single male asylum seekers under a Serco contract within days of the change of ownership.
https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/20718038.waverley-hotel-whitehaven-set-house-asylum-seekers-sold/The Waverley Hotel in Whitehaven will no longer house asylum seekers
Whitehaven News · Oct 2023
Whitehaven News reports the Waverley Hotel in Whitehaven was named as one of the 50 Home Office contingency hotels closing by the end of January 2024, with Copeland MP Trudy Harrison welcoming the announcement.
https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/23877158.waverley-hotel-whitehaven-will-no-longer-house-asylum-seekers/Whitehaven's Waverley Hotel on market for £280,000
Cumbria Crack · Jul 2024
Cumbria Crack reports the Waverley Hotel was put up for auction at a guide price of £280,000 after the operating company went into liquidation in December 2023 owing more than £170,000 to staff, suppliers and HMRC.
https://cumbriacrack.com/2024/07/17/whitehavens-waverley-hotel-on-market-for-280000/The Waverley Hotel in Whitehaven fails to sell at auction
Whitehaven News · 2024
Whitehaven News reports the Waverley Hotel in Whitehaven, having previously housed asylum seekers, failed to sell at its 2024 auction despite the £280,000 guide price set after the operator went into liquidation.
https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/24485862.waverley-hotel-whitehaven-fails-sell-auction/Coventry's good will is being taken advantage of: Council uses planning powers to stop asylum seekers being housed in third city hotel
Coventry Observer · Aug 2020
Coventry Observer reports Coventry City Council used Section 215 planning powers to prevent the Royal Court Hotel at Tamworth Road, Keresley from being used as a third city asylum hotel, citing disproportionate placement and pressure on local health services.
https://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/coventrys-good-will-is-being-taken-advantage-of-council-uses-planning-powers-to-stop-asylum-seekers-being-housed-in-third-city-hotel/City council use powers to stop arrival of asylum seekers at Coventry hotel
Coventry Telegraph (CoventryLive) · Aug 2020
CoventryLive reports it was understood seventeen coachloads of asylum seekers were due to arrive at the Royal Court Hotel in Keresley before Coventry City Council intervened with planning powers to halt the move.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/city-council-use-powers-stop-18848256Man charged after disorder at Britain First protest over asylum seekers at Coventry hotel
Coventry Telegraph (CoventryLive) · 2020
CoventryLive reports a man was charged after disorder at a Britain First protest outside the Royal Court Hotel in Keresley during the period the council was preventing the hotel's use for asylum accommodation.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/man-charged-after-disorder-britain-18851126Approach to use The Oak Hotel site in Ramsgate as asylum seeker accommodation not preferred option says owner
Isle of Thanet News · Jan 2023
Isle of Thanet News reports owner Dayne Gooding declined a Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes approach made in late October 2022 and early 2023 to use The Oak Hotel on Harbour Parade, Ramsgate as asylum seeker accommodation.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2023/01/13/approach-to-use-the-oak-hotel-site-in-ramsgate-as-asylum-seeker-accommodation-not-preferred-option-says-owner/Northop Hall: Asylum seekers will not be housed at former Flintshire hotel as plans rejected
ITV News Wales · Sep 2023
ITV News Wales reports Flintshire County Council unanimously refused planning permission in September 2023 for the proposed conversion of Northop Hall Country House Hotel into asylum accommodation for around 400 people.
https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2023-09-27/plans-to-house-asylum-seekers-at-welsh-hotel-go-before-councilCouncillors reject plans to house 400 asylum seekers in North Wales hotel
North Wales Live (Daily Post) · Sep 2023
Daily Post reports the Flintshire planning committee unanimously rejected plans to house 400 asylum seekers at Northop Hall Country House Hotel in 156 main building rooms plus 252 places in 126 modular units, with 2,500 letters of objection received.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/councillors-reject-plans-house-400-27801523Northop Hall Village Action Group delighted asylum seeker plans thrown out by Flintshire Council
Deeside.com · Sep 2023
Deeside.com reports the Northop Hall Village Action Group welcomed the unanimous Flintshire Council planning refusal of the Clearsprings backed scheme to convert Northop Hall Country House Hotel into accommodation for around 400 asylum seekers.
https://www.deeside.com/northop-hall-village-action-group-delighted-asylum-seeker-plans-thrown-out-by-flintshire-council/Eight hotels in Northern Ireland are on government contracts to house asylum seekers
Irish News · Nov 2022
Irish News reports at least eight Northern Ireland hotels are on Home Office contracts to house asylum seekers via Mears, naming the Loughshore Hotel in Carrickfergus and a prominent Bangor property and listing the Holiday Inn Express on University Street in Belfast among the city centre hotels showing as fully booked during the paper's search.
https://www.irishnews.com/business/2022/11/01/news/eight_hotels_in_northern_ireland_are_on_government_contracts_to_house_asylum_seekers_-2881079/Immigration in NI: Does Belfast have the second highest number of asylum seekers in the UK
FactCheckNI · 2024
FactCheckNI confirms Mears Group holds the Home Office Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contract in Northern Ireland and provides most of the asylum accommodation in Belfast, including hotel block bookings, with Belfast at one point ranked second among UK cities for asylum hotel placements.
https://factcheckni.org/articles/immigration-in-ni-does-belfast-have-the-second-highest-number-of-asylum-seekers-in-the-uk-and-do-almost-a-fifth-of-them-live-in-bt12/Asylum Seekers to Be Housed in Dumfries Hotel After Home Office Deal
DGWGO · Aug 2023
DGWGO reports the Home Office decision to house 61 male asylum seekers in the Mercure Cargenholm House Hotel near Dumfries from August 2023 under a Mears Group contract.
https://www.dgwgo.com/dumfries-galloway-news/asylum-seekers-housed-dumfries-hotel-home-office-deal/Anger at Home Office plan to house asylum seekers at Yorkshire hotel within days
Yorkshire Post · 2023
Yorkshire Post reports anger from local residents and Wakefield Council leadership over the Home Office plan to use the Best Western Hotel St Pierre in Newmillerdam as asylum accommodation within days of the council being notified.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/anger-at-home-office-plan-to-house-asylum-seekers-at-yorkshire-hotel-within-days-4186041Mum's nightmare as she's given 2 days to leave beauty salon in Yorkshire hotel set to house asylum seekers
Yorkshire Live (Examiner Live) · 2023
Yorkshire Live reports a beauty salon tenant inside the Best Western Hotel St Pierre at Newmillerdam was given two days to vacate the premises after the hotel accepted the Home Office contract to house asylum seekers.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/mums-nightmare-shes-given-2-27140634Hotel St Pierre Newmillerdam closure secured
Mark Eastwood MP (Conservative Dewsbury) · Mar 2024
Statement by then Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood announcing that following his meeting with Home Office Minister Tom Pursglove, the Hotel St Pierre Newmillerdam would close as asylum accommodation in March 2024.
https://x.com/mark4dewsbury/status/1773677704467841121Mark Eastwood backs locals to oppose asylum hotel plan
Mark Eastwood MP (Conservative Dewsbury) · 2023
Statement by Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood backing Newmillerdam residents in opposing the Home Office plan to use the Hotel St Pierre as asylum accommodation, citing impact on local tourism and on the nearby Cedar Court asylum site.
https://www.markeastwood.org.uk/news/mark-eastwood-backs-locals-oppose-asylum-hotel-planPolice investigate after disorder at Falkirk asylum seeker hotel protest
STV News · Sep 2025
STV News reports twice weekly protests outside the Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk, used by Mears Scotland for Home Office asylum accommodation, with Police Scotland deployed at successive demonstrations.
https://news.stv.tv/east-central/falkirk-cladhan-hotel-asylum-protestFalkirk asylum hotel: thirteen arrested as Police Scotland records 37 alleged crimes at Cladhan
STV News · Dec 2025
STV News reports Police Scotland confirmed 13 arrests and 37 alleged crimes linked to Cladhan Hotel demonstrations between August and December 2025 in response to a freedom of information request.
https://news.stv.tv/east-central/falkirk-cladhan-hotel-arrests-foiTonight: Britain's Asylum Hotels (Paul Brand investigation)
ITV News Tonight · Sep 2025
ITV News Tonight documentary by Paul Brand on UK asylum hotels including filmed access to the Stanwell Hotel near Heathrow, owned by Splendid Hospitality and contracted to Clearsprings Ready Homes, housing more than 100 single adult male asylum seekers.
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-09-25/tonight-britains-asylum-hotelsFirelighters thrown at police as protests spread to Stanwell asylum hotel
Get Surrey · Sep 2025
Get Surrey reports firelighters were thrown at Surrey Police officers at a protest outside the Stanwell Hotel near Heathrow, where the Home Office houses around 100 single adult male asylum seekers under the Clearsprings Ready Homes contract.
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/stanwell-hotel-asylum-protest-firelightersSeven men charged after burglary spree linked to Stanwell asylum hotel
Get Surrey · Sep 2025
Get Surrey reports seven men resident at the Stanwell Hotel asylum site were charged with burglary offences following a Surrey Police investigation, with cases listed at Crown Court.
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/stanwell-hotel-burglary-chargesCannock asylum hotel: 140 protesters confront 40 counter demonstrators outside Roman Way
Express & Star · Aug 2025
Express & Star reports a 140 strong anti asylum protest outside the Roman Way Hotel in Cannock in August 2025, met by around 40 counter demonstrators, with Staffordshire Police deploying public order officers across the town.
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/staffordshire/cannock/roman-way-hotel-protestSir Gavin Williamson MP: Roman Way Hotel campaign
Sir Gavin Williamson MP (Conservative South Staffordshire) · 2025
Campaign page from Sir Gavin Williamson MP calling for the Home Office to remove asylum seekers from the Roman Way Hotel in Cannock and detailing constituency case work and Parliamentary correspondence on the Serco contract.
https://www.gavinwilliamson.co.uk/campaigns/roman-way-hotelCrowds gather outside Victoria Hotel in Oldham as asylum protests spread
Manchester Evening News · Aug 2025
Manchester Evening News reports anti asylum demonstrations outside the Victoria Hotel on Hollinwood Avenue in Chadderton, Oldham, where the Home Office places asylum seekers under the Serco North West regional contract.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/victoria-hotel-oldham-asylum-protestStand Up to Racism: Oldham counter rally outside Victoria Hotel
Stand Up to Racism · Aug 2025
Stand Up to Racism reports a counter rally was held outside the Victoria Hotel in Chadderton, Oldham, opposite an anti asylum protest organised by activists in August 2025.
https://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/oldham-victoria-hotel-counter-rally-2025Six arrested at Fallowfield asylum hotel protest, Section 34 dispersal order issued
ITV News Granada · Sep 2025
ITV News Granada reports six people were arrested by Greater Manchester Police at a 7 September 2025 protest outside the Best Western on Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield, with a Section 34 dispersal order issued for the surrounding streets.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2025-09-08/six-arrested-fallowfield-asylum-hotel-protestThree charged after Fallowfield asylum hotel protest
ITV News Granada · Sep 2025
ITV News Granada reports three of the six people arrested at the 7 September 2025 protest outside the Best Western Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield were later charged with public order offences by Greater Manchester Police.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2025-09-09/three-charged-fallowfield-asylum-hotel-protestWilmslow Road asylum hotel: students react to dispersal order in Fallowfield
The Mancunion (University of Manchester) · Sep 2025
The Mancunion student newspaper reports the Section 34 dispersal order issued by Greater Manchester Police following the 7 September 2025 protest outside the Best Western on Wilmslow Road, and student union response.
https://mancunion.com/2025/09/fallowfield-wilmslow-road-asylum-hotel-protest/Asylum seekers moved from Hampton by Hilton Westhill as Home Office considers exit
STV News · Sep 2025
STV News reports the Home Office is considering an exit from the Hampton by Hilton Westhill in Aberdeenshire after up to 300 single adult male asylum seekers were relocated from the hotel in September 2025.
https://news.stv.tv/north/westhill-hampton-hilton-asylum-relocationAndrew Bowie MP: Hampton by Hilton Westhill statement
Andrew Bowie MP (Conservative West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) · 2025
Statement from Andrew Bowie MP confirming the Hampton by Hilton Westhill housed approximately 300 single adult male asylum seekers from Iran, Somalia and Eritrea under the Mears Scotland contract, and welcoming the September 2025 relocation announcement.
https://www.andrewbowiemp.co.uk/news/westhill-hampton-hilton-asylumClash at ibis Gloucester: 120 anti and pro asylum protesters face off
Stroud Times · Sep 2025
Stroud Times reports a 120 strong protest and counter protest outside the ibis Gloucester at Barnwood in September 2025, with Gloucestershire Police running dedicated public order operations across multiple weekend events.
https://stroudtimes.com/news/gloucester-ibis-asylum-protestGloucester Liberal Democrats statement on ibis Barnwood asylum hotel
Gloucester Liberal Democrats · 2025
Gloucester Liberal Democrats statement confirming the ibis hotel at Barnwood was being used by the Home Office under the Clearsprings Ready Homes contract for asylum accommodation, and detailing engagement with Gloucestershire Police over recurring protests.
https://www.gloucesterlibdems.org.uk/ibis-barnwood-asylumYahoo News protest map: ibis Gloucester among UK asylum hotel flashpoints
Yahoo News UK · Oct 2025
Yahoo News protest tracker listing the ibis Gloucester at Barnwood as one of the UK asylum hotels with sustained anti asylum protest activity between August and October 2025.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/asylum-hotel-protest-map-2025/Tonight: Britain's Asylum Hotels (Exeter Airport segment)
ITV News Tonight · Sep 2025
ITV News Tonight documentary featuring the Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport, where female refugees, children and family groups (and no single adult men) are housed under the Clearsprings Ready Homes contract.
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-09-25/tonight-britains-asylum-hotelsEast Devon councillors walk protesters away from Exeter Airport asylum hotel
East Devon News · Sep 2025
East Devon News reports councillors Ed Hill and Angela Nash personally walked anti asylum protesters away from the Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport after confirming the site housed only women, children and family groups, with no single adult men.
https://eastdevonnews.co.uk/2025/09/exeter-airport-hampton-hilton-asylum-protestExeter Airport asylum hotel: Devon and Cornwall Police deploy public order officers
Exeter Today · Sep 2025
Exeter Today reports Devon and Cornwall Police ran a multi event public order operation at the Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport at Clyst Honiton during weekend protests in autumn 2025.
https://exetertoday.co.uk/news/hampton-hilton-exeter-airport-asylumHow combative videographers fire up Britain's asylum hotel protests
Reuters · Dec 2025
Reuters investigation naming the Manchester Airport Stanley Hotel as an asylum hotel where an undercover videographer worked from around 2021 and began filming residents in 2022. Reuters states the hotel has since been renamed and put under new management as part of the government policy of reducing hotel use, and no longer houses asylum seekers.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/how-combative-videographers-fire-up-britains-asylum-hotel-protests-2025-12-17/Awful, the hotel is now used to house asylum seekers (Manchester Airport BW Signature Collection, Handforth)
TripAdvisor (verified guest review) · Aug 2021
Verified TripAdvisor review dated August 2021 from a paying guest who stayed at the Manchester Airport Stanley Hotel (then trading under Best Western Signature Collection branding) and reports being unaware in advance that the property was being used to house asylum seekers, evidencing dual operation as early as summer 2021.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g499510-d286541-r805393674-Manchester_Airport_BW_Signature_Collection_by_Best_Western-Handforth_Cheshire_Eng.htmlManchester Airport Stanley Hotel, BW Signature Collection (Handforth) property listing
Booking.com · 2026
Commercial listing confirming the Manchester Airport Stanley Hotel sits on Stanley Road, Handforth, postcode SK9 3LD, has 88 bedrooms, and trades under the BW Signature Collection by Best Western brand. Used here for capacity and address only.
https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/hallmark-manchester-airport.en-gb.htmlAsylum seekers to share rooms at Holiday Inn Express in Cartsburn in bid to free up space
STV News · Oct 2023
STV News reports the Home Office plans to increase capacity at the Holiday Inn Express in Cartsburn, Greenock, from 69 to 126 male asylum seekers by introducing room sharing, with Inverclyde Council and the Health and Social Care Partnership briefed on the change.
https://news.stv.tv/west-central/asylum-seekers-to-share-rooms-at-holiday-inn-express-in-cartsburn-in-bid-to-free-up-spaceHOTEL Being Used As Asylum Seeker Accommodation
Inverclyde Now · 2022
Inverclyde Now reports the 70 room Holiday Inn Express at Cartsburn has been closed to public guests after being commissioned by the Home Office as contingency asylum accommodation for men awaiting decisions on their claims.
https://www.inverclydenow.com/hotel-being-used-as-asylum-seeker-accommodation/Asylum seekers facing second Christmas in hotels abandoned by the system
The Ferret · Dec 2023
The Ferret investigative report on Mears Group contingency asylum accommodation in Scotland names the Greenock Holiday Inn Express in Cartsburn as a site where the majority of male asylum seekers had already spent more than a year in hotel rooms while waiting for decisions, with limited integration support.
https://theferret.scot/asylum-seekers-second-year-in-hotels-abandoned/Council confirms government utilising two Crewe hotels as temporary housing for asylum seekers
Crewe Nub News · Nov 2022
Crewe Nub News reports Cheshire East Council confirming Serco on behalf of the Home Office has block-booked the Ibis Styles Crewe on Emperor Way and the Best Western Crewe Arms Hotel on Nantwich Road for temporary asylum seeker accommodation, with the council also confirming use of dispersed properties.
https://crewe.nub.news/news/local-news/council-confirms-government-utilising-two-crewe-hotels-for-asylum-seekers-161071Crewe hotel chain set to reopen with major refurbishment underway
Crewe Nub News · 2024
Crewe Nub News reports the Ibis Styles Crewe on Emperor Way is targeting a reopening to the public following a major refurbishment after roughly 18 months as Home Office asylum accommodation, signalling the end of the Serco contingency contract at the site.
https://crewe.nub.news/news/local-news/crewe-economy-hotel-chain-to-reopen-following-major-refurbishment-224690Milton Keynes protesters in Deanshanger hotel demonstration
MKFM 106.3FM · 2025
MKFM reports a Great British National Protest demonstration outside the MK Hotel on Buckingham Road in Deanshanger, with attendees protesting Home Office use of the hotel for asylum seeker accommodation and Sergeant Lorna Clarke confirming Thames Valley Police engagement with residents.
https://www.mkfm.com/news/local-news/milton-keynes-protesters-in-deanshanger-hotel-demonstration/Residents complain after hotel is secretly filled with asylum seekers in their Milton Keynes town
Milton Keynes Citizen · 2024
Milton Keynes Citizen reports residents in Deanshanger complaining that the MK Hotel on Buckingham Road has been used by the Home Office as initial contingency asylum accommodation without prior consultation, with concerns raised about disclosure and local services.
https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/residents-complain-after-hotel-is-secretly-filled-with-asylum-seekers-in-their-milton-keynes-town-4860990300 person UKIP rally met by over 1000 counter protestors in Sheffield on 8 November
Forge Press (University of Sheffield) · Nov 2025
Forge Press reports a UKIP march of around 300 supporters ended on Blonk Street in Sheffield outside the Holiday Inn Express, which attendees believed was housing asylum seekers, with around 1,000 counter protesters from Sheffield Stand Up to Racism, the Sheffield Green Party and the Sheffield Trade Union Council kept apart from the UKIP demonstration by South Yorkshire Police kettles.
https://forgepress.org/300-person-ukip-rally-met-by-over-1000-counter-protestors-in-sheffield-on-8-november/Peaceful protests and tensions as UKIP and anti racism demonstrations face off in Sheffield
The Tab Sheffield · Nov 2025
The Tab reports the 8 November 2025 UKIP march in Sheffield ending on Blonk Street outside the Holiday Inn Express that attendees believed houses asylum seekers, with about 80 UKIP supporters chanting deportation slogans and seven people arrested by South Yorkshire Police under Public Order Act conditions.
https://thetab.com/2025/11/08/peaceful-protests-and-tensions-as-ukip-and-anti-racism-demonstrations-face-off-in-sheffieldNumber of asylum seekers housed in Sheffield hotels revealed
The Star (Sheffield) · 2025
Sheffield Star reports updated Home Office figures showing 278 asylum seekers were housed in Sheffield hotels at the end of 2025, with the Holiday Inn Express on Blonk Street one of the city centre sites referenced in the wider coverage of the city dispersal contract.
https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/number-of-asylum-seekers-housed-in-sheffield-hotels-revealed-5615247Over 2,300 Afghan Allies and Their Families Currently Housed in UK Military Sites, MoD Reveals
Byline Times · Aug 2024
Byline Times reports a Ministry of Defence Freedom of Information Act disclosure confirming 2,356 Afghan nationals were living in UK military sites in mid 2024, with 265 housed at Larkhill in Wiltshire as Transitional Service Family Accommodation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Programme.
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/08/15/afghan-allies-uk-military-sites/Over 2,300 Afghan allies and families housed in UK military sites, facing uncertain futures
Action on Armed Violence · Aug 2024
Action on Armed Violence analysis of the Ministry of Defence Freedom of Information disclosure on Afghan ARAP residents, confirming 265 individuals at Larkhill and 679 overall who had been in MoD accommodation for more than six months despite policy intending stays of weeks.
https://aoav.org.uk/2024/over-2300-afghan-allies-and-families-housed-in-uk-military-sites-facing-uncertain-futures/Thousands of Afghans secretly flown to new life on military bases in UK
The National · Jul 2024
The National reports thousands of Afghan nationals being moved into UK military sites, including Larkhill in Wiltshire, under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Programme, with the MoD providing transitional Service Family Accommodation pending dispersal into civilian housing.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2024/07/31/thousands-of-afghans-secretly-flown-to-new-lives-on-military-bases-in-uk/Dunchurch Park Hotel applies for retrospective planning permission after installing 40 pods intended to house asylum seekers
Warwickshire World · 2023
Warwickshire World reports the owners of Dunchurch Park Hotel applied for retrospective planning permission after installing 40 pods on the car park to house up to 120 asylum seekers, with Rugby Borough Council's planning committee unanimously voting to refuse.
https://www.warwickshireworld.com/news/people/dunchurch-park-hotel-applies-for-retrospective-planning-permission-after-installing-40-pods-intended-to-house-asylum-seekers-3649724Asylum seeker cabins at Dunchurch hotel granted planning permission on appeal
Warwickshire World · 2024
Warwickshire World reports the Planning Inspectorate granted permission for the 40 temporary cabins on the Dunchurch Park Hotel grounds for up to 18 months from 31 July 2023, finding harm to heritage assets but ruling the public benefit of asylum-seeker accommodation outweighed it.
https://www.warwickshireworld.com/news/people/asylum-seeker-cabins-at-dunchurch-hotel-granted-permission-on-appeal-4259310Dunchurch Park Hotel update amid housing Afghan refugees rumours
Coventry Live · 2024
Coventry Live confirms the hotel reached an arrangement with the Home Office and Serco to accommodate around 200 asylum seekers under the contingency programme, with residents housed temporarily while their applications are processed.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/dunchurch-park-hotel-update-amid-21563571Updated Statement: Home Office
Rugby Borough Council · 2024
Rugby Borough Council confirms the Home Office notified the Council that asylum seekers were to be housed at Dunchurch Park Hotel while their refugee status is assessed, with the Council not consulted on the decision.
https://www.rugby.gov.uk/w/updated-statement-home-officeWe want them to thrive: Elgin hotel welcomes 10 asylum seekers - and a further 40 within the next month
Press and Journal · May 2023
Press and Journal reports the first 10 asylum seekers arrived at the Eight Acres Hotel in Elgin in May 2023, with up to 50 male residents aged 18 to 25 from Iran, Iraq and Eritrea expected within the month under a Mears Group Home Office contract.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/moray/5715856/asylum-seekers-arrive-in-elgin/Eight Acres Hotel in Elgin to stop housing asylum seekers
Press and Journal · Apr 2024
Press and Journal reports the Home Office terminated its contract with the Eight Acres Hotel on Morriston Road in Elgin in early April 2024, with residents notified at least five days before being moved elsewhere in the asylum estate.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/moray/6417195/eight-acres-hotel-in-elgin-to-stop-housing-asylum-seekers/Former staff of Eight Acres Hotel share shocking treatment after the hotel closed to house asylum seekers
Northern Scot · 2023
Northern Scot reports former staff of the Eight Acres Hotel describing the closure to the public from 30 April 2023, with almost all employees made redundant, customers facing cancelled bookings and gym members chasing membership refunds.
https://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/eight-acres-staff-share-experience-of-nightmare-closure-313454/Anti-migrant and anti-racism protesters clash outside asylum seeker hotel
The Gazette · Aug 2025
The Gazette reports around 200 anti-immigration protesters wearing St George's and Union flags clashed with about 30 Stand Up to Racism counter-demonstrators outside the Four Points by Sheraton London Gatwick Airport on Bonehurst Road in Horley, Surrey, in August 2025.
https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/national/25413032.anti-migrant-anti-racism-protesters-clash-outside-asylum-seeker-hotel/Three arrested after anti-immigration protest outside Horley hotel
Surrey Live · Aug 2025
Surrey Live reports three arrests at the anti-immigration protest outside the Four Points by Sheraton on Bonehurst Road in Horley, with Surrey Police running a public order operation to keep the two groups apart.
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/three-arrested-after-anti-immigration-32339853Four Points by Sheraton London Gatwick Airport (formerly Thistle / Chequers)
Wikimapia · 2024
Wikimapia property record stating the building on Bonehurst Road in Horley operated as the Thistle and later the Chequers Hotel, closed in 2013, reopened in 2021 as a COVID quarantine site, and is now used to house asylum seekers under the Four Points by Sheraton brand.
https://wikimapia.org/40728021/Four-Points-by-Sheraton-London-Gatwick-Airport-closedWhy Bracknell council calls hotel used to house Afghans transitional accommodation
Bracknell News · Aug 2025
Bracknell News reports the former Grange Hotel in Bracknell town centre is being used by the Ministry of Defence as transition accommodation for 194 Afghan people in family groups who hold indefinite leave to remain after arriving via lawful resettlement schemes, distinct from Home Office asylum dispersal.
https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/25432511.bracknell-council-calls-grange-hotel-transitional-accommodation/No change to Bracknell transition hotel for Afghans after Epping ruling
Bracknell News · Aug 2025
Bracknell News reports Bracknell Forest Council confirmed no change at the Grange transition hotel following the Epping Forest High Court injunction against asylum-seeker placement at the Bell Hotel, on the basis that the Grange residents are not asylum seekers.
https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/25406799.no-change-bracknell-transition-hotel-epping-ruling/Bracknell council questioned over £74k on translations
Bracknell News · 2025
Bracknell News reports Bracknell Forest Council was reimbursed £74,000 by central government for translation services provided to Afghan families housed at the Grange transition hotel, evidencing the public-service overhead beyond the MoD contract.
https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/25928828.translations-afghans-bracknell-paid-government/Up to 150 asylum seekers are to be housed in the Grosvenor Hotel in Stratford town centre
Stratford Herald · Sep 2022
Stratford Herald reports up to 150 asylum seekers are to be housed in the Grosvenor Hotel on Warwick Road in Stratford-upon-Avon, with the 79-room property closed to the public and all rooms made available for use by the Home Office.
https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/confusion-as-asylum-seekers-are-moved-into-stratford-hotel-9271714/The Grosvenor confirmed as the Stratford hotel set to house asylum seekers
Stratford Observer · Sep 2022
Stratford Observer confirms the Grosvenor on Warwick Road is the Stratford hotel taken into Home Office contingency use, with single women, couples and family groups starting to arrive at the property owned by Brightstar Hospitality Management.
https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/news/the-grosvenor-confirmed-as-the-stratford-hotel-set-to-house-asylum-seekers/Nadhim Zahawi gives his backing for Stratford hotel to stop taking asylum seekers
Stratford Herald · 2023
Stratford Herald reports Stratford-upon-Avon MP Nadhim Zahawi backed calls for the Grosvenor Hotel to be removed from the Home Office contingency programme after the immigration minister Robert Jenrick announced moves to exit 50 hotels from the scheme.
https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/mp-calls-for-hotel-change-9338267/Asylum hotel protest in Solihull as Cooper sets out plan to clear appeals backlog
Greatest Hits Radio (Birmingham & the West Midlands) · Aug 2025
Greatest Hits Radio reports protesters draped in St George's Cross gathered outside the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn in Solihull on 24 August 2025, peering through the doors and scaling a ladder to hang a flag on a lamp post, on the second day of nationwide weekend protests outside asylum hotels.
https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/west-midlands/news/asylum-hotel-protests-solihull-castle-bromwichAsylum hotel protests continue as Cooper sets out plan to clear appeals backlog
Express & Star · Aug 2025
Express & Star covers the 24 August 2025 weekend protests including the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn demonstration, against a backdrop of 111,084 asylum applications in the year to June 2025 and 51,000 outstanding appeals with an average 53-week wait.
https://www.expressandstar.com/uk-news/2025/08/24/asylum-hotel-protests-continue-as-cooper-sets-out-plan-to-clear-appeals-backlog/Asylum hotel protests continue as Cooper sets out plan to clear appeals backlog
The Irish News · Aug 2025
Irish News national wire coverage of the August 2025 weekend protests outside asylum hotels including the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn Express, with at least 15 arrests on the Saturday across the UK.
https://www.irishnews.com/news/uk/asylum-hotel-protests-continue-as-cooper-sets-out-plan-to-clear-appeals-backlog-YWX7EWUR3VMGLLHOZ2SALM5XQ4/North Yorkshire hotel to stop being used to house asylum seekers
Yorkshire Post · 2026
Yorkshire Post reports the Home Office has written to North Yorkshire Council to end the contract for asylum accommodation at the Allerton Court Hotel in Northallerton, with families due to be moved out by the start of June 2026.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/north-yorkshire-hotel-to-stop-being-used-to-house-asylum-seekers-5690412Government says hotel in Northallerton will not house single male asylum seekers
Harrogate Advertiser · 2025
Harrogate Advertiser reports the Home Office confirmed it will not pursue plans to replace the asylum families at the Allerton Court Hotel with single adult men, after Richmond and Northallerton MP Rishi Sunak and North Yorkshire Council formally objected.
https://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/news/people/government-says-hotel-in-northallerton-will-not-house-single-male-asylum-seekers-5319913Asylum seekers to no longer be housed at North Yorkshire hotel
Gazette and Herald (Darlington and Stockton) · 2026
Gazette and Herald reports the Allerton Court Hotel will cease housing asylum seeker family groups by June 2026 after the Home Office terminated its contract; council had warned a change of use to single adult males could breach planning rules.
https://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/25935191.asylum-seekers-no-longer-housed-north-yorks-hotel/Holidaymakers shock at refugees staying at Crawley hotels
Sussex Express · 2022
Sussex Express reports holidaymakers were unaware that several Crawley hotels including the Arora Hotel Gatwick and the Europa Hotel had been block booked by Home Office contractors to house asylum seekers, with Clearsprings Ready Homes named as one of the operators.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/holidaymakers-shock-at-refugees-staying-at-crawley-hotels-795304Afghan mum stuck in Crawley hotel near Gatwick with seven children months after fleeing Kabul
Sussex Live · 2022
Sussex Live profile of an Afghan mother and her seven children housed in a Crawley hotel near Gatwick under the Afghan resettlement and Home Office contingency arrangements; the Arora Hotel Gatwick is one of the Crawley hotels used to accommodate refugees and asylum seekers in this period.
https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/afghan-mum-stuck-crawley-hotel-6824178Public meeting reveals plans for Beckingham Rangers Training Camp Afghan accommodation
LincsOnline (Sleaford) · Dec 2024
LincsOnline reports a public meeting where North Kesteven District Council, Lincolnshire County Council, the Home Office and the MoD set out plans for Beckingham Rangers Training Camp to be used as a Reception, Staging and Onward Movement (RSOM) site for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) for up to 200 Afghan citizens at a time.
https://www.lincsonline.co.uk/sleaford/feisty-meeting-sees-details-shared-for-site-to-house-afghans-9390886/The people coming to this new site are not asylum seekers
LincsOnline (Sleaford) · Dec 2024
LincsOnline reports officials told residents that those housed at Beckingham Rangers Training Camp would be ARAP eligible Afghan citizens who supported UK Armed Forces, not asylum seekers under the Home Office dispersal regime, with stays of around six to eight weeks per cohort.
https://www.lincsonline.co.uk/sleaford/the-people-coming-to-this-new-site-are-not-asylum-seekers-9389630/Government confirms which military sites will house asylum seekers
Forces News · 2024
Forces News article naming Beckingham Rangers Training Camp in Lincolnshire among MoD training sites brought into use to support Home Office and Ministry of Defence accommodation pressures, including ARAP processing.
https://www.forcesnews.com/politics/asylum-seekers-be-moved-military-bases-and-barges-under-government-plansAsylum seeker support in Chelmsford
Chelmsford Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrants Project · 2023
Chelmsford Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrants Project briefing confirming the Best Western Atlantic Hotel on New Street, Chelmsford, was used to house asylum seekers under Home Office contingency arrangements after the previous family residents were moved into temporary accommodation in August 2022.
https://www.chelmsfordintegration.org/Outrage as asylum seekers set to move into every flat in Chelmsford luxury apartment block
New English Review · 2024
Reporting on Chelmsford asylum accommodation noting the Best Western Atlantic Hotel had been advertised as closed for refurbishment while continuing to house migrants, alongside a 98 unit Chelmsford apartment block being absorbed into the Home Office estate.
https://www.newenglishreview.org/outrage-as-asylum-seekers-set-to-move-into-every-flat-in-citys-most-sought-after-luxury-apartment-block/Hotel rehousing 300 refugees after allegations of rape and poor conditions
South London News · 2024
South London News reports that more than 300 refugees were being rehoused from the Best Western London Queens Crystal Palace Hotel after multiple allegations of sexual offences by hotel staff, including the alleged rape of a 12 year old girl, and reports of dreadful conditions inside the 98 room building.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/news/hotel-rehousing-300-refugees-after-allegations-of-rape-and-poor-conditions/Queens Hotel extension plans: Councillor seeks protections for asylum seeking residents
News from Crystal Palace · Mar 2024
News from Crystal Palace reports Croydon Council granted further planning permission for an extension at the Queens Hotel in March 2024 despite reports of dreadful conditions inside the asylum hotel including alleged rape, alleged assaults and a suicide attempt.
https://newsfromcrystalpalace.wordpress.com/2024/03/21/queens-hotel-extension-plans-councillor-seeks-protections-for-asylum-seeking-residents/Web of intrigue: the Queens Hotel Crystal Palace asylum contract
Ed Pond, Independent Politics (Substack) · 2024
Investigation into the corporate history of the Queens Hotel in Crystal Palace tracking the building from a 2014 Home Office contract under Eurohotels (with 600 people in 98 rooms) to its 2019 absorption into the Best Western franchise and a 2021 Clearsprings contract housing 450 plus refugees.
https://edpond.substack.com/p/web-of-intrigueAsylum seeker hotel to build more rooms despite claims of rape
Croydon Advertiser (PressReader) · Apr 2024
Croydon Advertiser reports the Queens Hotel asylum site in Crystal Palace was granted permission to expand by adding more rooms despite ongoing concern over allegations of rape and assault inside the contingency accommodation.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/croydon-advertiser/20240412/281535116023871Home Office insists it will close every asylum seeker hotel after Derbyshire council demands timeline
Derbyshire Times · 2025
Derbyshire Times reports the Home Office told Derbyshire County Council it will close every asylum seeker hotel in England, after the Reform UK led council demanded a timeline for the closure of the Best Western Nottingham Derby in Sandiacre and other Erewash sites.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/home-office-insists-it-will-close-every-asylum-seeker-hotel-after-derbyshire-council-demands-timeline-5605192Borough council rejects move to lobby Government for timeline to cease use of hotel to house asylum seekers
Erewash Sound · 2025
Erewash Sound reports a January 2025 Erewash Borough Council vote rejected a motion to lobby the Government over the use of the Best Western Hotel on Bostocks Lane in Sandiacre as asylum accommodation, with Labour Erewash MP Adam Thompson stating he had repeatedly raised the issue with ministers.
https://www.erewashsound.com/news/sandiacre/borough-council-rejects-move-to-lobby-government-for-timeline-to-cease-use-of-hotel-to-house-asylum-seekers/Councillors push for a timeline to end asylum seeker use of an Erewash hotel
Erewash Sound · 2025
Erewash Sound reports 161 asylum seekers were resident at the Best Western Nottingham Derby in Long Eaton (Sandiacre) under the Home Office contingency contract, and that the adjacent Novotel Long Eaton ceased asylum use in June 2024 while the Best Western continued.
https://www.erewashsound.com/news/sandiacre/councillors-push-for-a-timeline-to-end-asylum-seeker-use-of-an-erewash-hotel-and-call-for-st-georges-day-parade/activist posed as Home Office inspector to target Scots asylum hotel
The Ferret (Scotland) · 2024
The Ferret reports the Station Hotel in Dumfries was contracted by the UK Government to house Ukrainian refugees and was targeted by an activist who impersonated a Home Office inspector by phone, prompting Scottish Government emails on protecting staff and residents.
https://www.theferret.scot/far-right-activist-target-scotland-asylum-hotel/How asylum hotels became a far-right target
The Ferret (Scotland) · 2024
The Ferret backgrounder explains the term asylum hotel as block booked accommodation procured by Home Office contractors and lists the Station Hotel in Dumfries among the Scottish sites used in the post 2022 contingency programme.
https://www.theferret.scot/asylum-hotels-explained/Asylum seeker on hunger strike against inhumane treatment at Stockport hotel
ITV News Granada · Nov 2022
ITV News Granada reports an asylum seeker at the Bredbury Hall Hotel in Stockport went on hunger strike to protest what he called inhumane and degrading treatment by Home Office contracted staff, with his condition deteriorating to the point of hospitalisation.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-11-17/asylum-seeker-on-hunger-strike-against-inhumane-treatment-at-stockport-hotelRefugees forced to live in squalid conditions at Serco run hotel
Morning Star · Nov 2022
Morning Star reports the Bredbury Hall Hotel in Stockport, run by Serco for the Home Office, was housing more than 100 asylum seekers with reported scabies cases, waste in corridors and unresolved disrepair issues.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/refugee-forced-to-live-shocking-conditions-serco-run-hotelBredbury Hall Hotel listing (Serco contracted asylum accommodation)
Bredbury Hall Hotel commercial listing · 2022
Commercial listing confirming the Bredbury Hall Hotel sits in Bredbury, Stockport, postcode SK6 2BE, in a Grade II listed mid 1600s building with conference and accommodation facilities. Used here for capacity and address only.
https://www.bredburyhallhotel.co.uk/Breaking: Hale Ashley Hotel is to stop housing migrants, MP confirms
Altrincham Today · Apr 2026
Altrincham and Sale West MP Connor Rand confirms the Home Office told Trafford Council the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale will stop housing asylum seekers within three months.
https://altrincham.todaynews.co.uk/council/2026/04/15/hales-ashley-hotel-is-to-stop-housing-migrants-mp-confirms/Convicted paedophile arrested at Hale migrant hotel
Altrincham Today · Oct 2025
Altrincham Today reports a convicted paedophile on the run from German authorities was arrested at the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale, which has been housing asylum seekers since February 2023.
https://altrincham.todaynews.co.uk/news/2025/10/31/convicted-paedophile-arrested-at-hale-migrant-hotel/Borough council resolves to take legal action over asylum hotel
Local Government Lawyer · 2025
Local Government Lawyer reports Broxbourne Borough Council served Planning Contravention Notices on the Delta Marriott Hotel owners in advance of planned enforcement action against the unauthorised change of use.
https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/98995-borough-council-resolves-to-take-legal-action-over-asylum-hotelDelta Marriott Cheshunt: Broxbourne Council announces plans to copy Epping and block asylum seekers
NationalWorld · Aug 2025
NationalWorld reports Broxbourne Borough Council formally resolved to take legal action against the Home Office and the Delta Marriott Cheshunt operator in the wake of the Bell Hotel Epping injunction.
https://www.nationalworld.com/news/uk/delta-marriott-cheshunt-broxbourne-council-announces-plans-to-copy-epping-and-block-asylum-seekers-52803174-star Cambridge Bar Hill hotel to house up to 272 asylum seekers
Cambs News · 2023
Cambs News reports the Best Western Cambridge Bar Hill Hotel was procured by the Home Office to house up to 272 asylum seekers under the Serco regional contract.
https://www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/4-star-cambridge-bar-hill-hotel-to-house-up-to-272-asylum-seekers/7998/MP expresses concern to home secretary over use of Bar Hill hotel to house asylum seekers
Cambridge Independent · 2024
Cambridge Independent reports South Cambridgeshire MP raised concerns over the lack of consultation on the use of the Cambridge Bar Hill Hotel for asylum accommodation.
https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/mp-expresses-concern-to-home-secretary-over-use-of-bar-hill-9303304/Man phoned Cambridge hotel to threaten asylum seekers as far-right riots broke out in UK
ITV News Anglia · Oct 2024
ITV News Anglia reports a man phoned the Cambridge Bar Hill asylum hotel to threaten residents during the wave of disorder following the Southport stabbing.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2024-10-18/caller-told-hotel-well-be-coming-for-asylum-seekers-as-riots-broke-outThe Bruce Hotel: A Story Of The Past And Present
The Community Impact · 2024
The Community Impact details the Bruce Hotel in East Kilbride being repurposed by the Home Office as a migrant hotel, with around 60 individuals currently living there and an estimated daily cost of over £8,000.
https://thecommunityimpact.co.uk/the-bruce-hotel-a-story-of-the-past-and-present/How asylum hotels became a far-right target
The Ferret · 2025
The Ferret confirms at least 15 hotels were used as asylum accommodation across Scotland including the Bruce Hotel in East Kilbride, accommodating approximately 1,500 people in total.
https://www.theferret.scot/asylum-hotels-explained/activist posed as Home Office inspector to target Scots asylum hotel
The Ferret · 2024
The Ferret investigation reveals an activist posed as a Home Office inspector to gain access to the Bruce Hotel in East Kilbride, naming the site as a Home Office contracted asylum hotel.
https://www.theferret.scot/far-right-activist-target-scotland-asylum-hotel/Update on if MOD bases will be used to house asylum seekers
This Is Wiltshire · 2024
This Is Wiltshire reports MOD property at Bulford Camp transitional service family accommodation has been used since December 2023 to temporarily house Afghans under the Afghan Resettlement Policy.
https://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/25473486.update-mod-bases-will-used-house-asylum-seekers/Two military sites earmarked as asylum seeker accommodation
BBC News · 2024
BBC News reports MOD military sites including Wiltshire bases have been earmarked for asylum seeker accommodation, with previous Afghan family use referenced as the precedent.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr0lx7n0y3oOwners of hostel for asylum seekers concerned over online racial anger
The Edinburgh Reporter · Oct 2023
The Edinburgh Reporter confirms the Cairn Hotel in Bathgate has closed and been leased to government contractors to house asylum seekers, with around 80 single men awaiting decisions on their applications.
https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2023/10/owners-of-hostel-for-asylum-seekers-concerned-over-online-racial-anger/West Lothian councillors call out asylum protests
Midlothian View · 2025
Midlothian View reports West Lothian councillors called out anti-asylum protests focused on the Cairn Hotel, Bathgate.
https://www.midlothianview.com/news/west-lothian-councillors-call-out-asylum-protestsRefugees could be forced to share rooms as Aberdeen Home Office hotels run out of space
Press and Journal · 2024
Press and Journal reports the Carmelite Hotel in Aberdeen city centre is one of three Home Office contracted asylum hotels in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, with capacity pressures forcing room doubling.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6071275/aberdeen-asylum-seeker-hotel-doubling-up/What is council role in housing Aberdeen and Westhill asylum seekers?
Press and Journal · 2025
Press and Journal explainer naming the Carmelite Hotel in Aberdeen as one of three city Home Office hotels and detailing the limited statutory role councils have over Home Office placements.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/6837008/aberdeen-aberdeenshire-asylum-seeker-hotel/A hotel near Horsham has been procured by the Government to house asylum seekers
Sussex Express · 2023
Sussex Express reports the Cisswood House Hotel in Lower Beeding, near Horsham, has been procured by the Home Office to house asylum seekers after closing to the public in January 2022.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/hotel-near-horsham-procured-by-the-government-to-house-asylum-seekers-4080725A decision to house refugees at an historic Horsham hotel divides opinions
Sussex Express · 2023
Sussex Express reports community division over the Home Office decision to house refugee families at the historic Cisswood House Hotel in Lower Beeding, naming the hotel directly.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/decision-to-house-refugees-at-historic-horsham-hotel-divides-opinions-4082382Migrants housed at luxury West Sussex hotel blamed for causing problems for locals
Sussex Express · 2024
Sussex Express follow-up reporting on residents at the Cisswood House Hotel in Lower Beeding, with on-site security guards now patrolling the area.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/migrants-housed-at-luxury-west-sussex-hotel-blamed-for-causing-problems-for-locals-5124962Asylum Seekers Living in Home Office-Funded Hotel Gang-Raped Woman on Brighton Beach, Court Hears
IBTimes UK · Apr 2026
IBTimes UK reports three asylum seekers living at the Cisswood House Hotel in Sandygate Lane, Lower Beeding, near Horsham, were tried at Hove Crown Court for the gang rape of a woman on Brighton beach in October 2025.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/asylum-seekers-living-home-office-funded-hotel-gang-raped-woman-brighton-beach-court-hears-1786365Group of asylum seekers found guilty of raping woman on Brighton beach in callous attack
ITV News Meridian · Apr 2026
ITV News Meridian reports the 23 April 2026 Hove Crown Court conviction of three Cisswood House asylum residents for the October 2025 Brighton beach rape.
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-04-23/three-asylum-seekers-found-guilty-of-raping-woman-on-beach-in-callous-attackDemonstration held outside hotel at West Sussex village as asylum hotel protests take place across UK
Sussex Express · Aug 2025
Sussex Express photo coverage of the August 2025 demonstration outside the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick, naming the asylum-hotel use directly during the wave of UK-wide hotel protests.
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/politics/in-photos-demonstration-held-outside-hotel-at-west-sussex-village-as-asylum-hotel-protests-take-place-across-uk-5264807Copthorne Effingham Park Gears Up To Reopen Doors
Hong Leong / Millennium Hotels · Dec 2023
Millennium Hotels parent Hong Leong publicly notes the Copthorne Effingham Park Gatwick was used during the UK Government Afghan Resettlement Programme to house Afghan refugees, and was being prepared to reopen as a commercial hotel.
https://hi-life.hongleong.com.sg/December2023/care-article01.htmlLiving and dying in the UK opaque asylum system
The New Arab · 2021
The New Arab reports the Crowne Plaza Heathrow used by the Home Office to house around 400 asylum seekers, opened in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with multiple complaints from residents about conditions.
https://www.newarab.com/analysis/living-and-dying-uks-opaque-asylum-systemHeathrow Airport: Met Police investigate death of asylum seeker at hotel
Berkshire Live · 2021
Berkshire Live reports Met Police investigation of the unexplained death of an asylum seeker at the Crowne Plaza Heathrow T4, naming the site by name in the context of Home Office accommodation.
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/heathrow-airport-met-police-investigate-21086953Asylum seekers living in luxury London hotel complain it not good enough
Foxhole News · Aug 2021
Foxhole News reports the Crowne Plaza near Heathrow has been block-booked by the Home Office to accommodate migrants arriving in Britain via the English Channel, naming the four-star hotel directly.
https://foxhole.news/2021/08/11/asylum-seekers-living-in-luxury-london-hotel-complain-its-not-good-enough/Hotel in Warwick set to house hundreds of asylum seekers
Leamington Observer · Dec 2024
Leamington Observer reports the Delta Hotel on the Stratford Road off Longbridge roundabout, Warwick, is set to provide temporary asylum accommodation for around 360 single male asylum seekers.
https://leamingtonobserver.co.uk/news/hotel-in-warwick-set-to-house-hundreds-of-asylum-seekers-52914/Warwick hotel to house asylum seekers
Warwick Nub News · Dec 2024
Warwick Nub News reports the Delta Hotel on Stratford Road has been temporarily closed for around three months while it houses asylum seekers under a Home Office contract.
https://warwick.nub.news/news/local-news/warwick-hotel-to-house-asylum-seekers-245481Two Derby hotels housing asylum seekers could face enforcement or legal action
Derby World · 2025
Derby World reports Home Office data shows Derby is accommodating 329 asylum seekers in the Midland Hotel and the Station Hotel on Midland Road near the railway station, and that Derby City Council is assessing both for potential planning law breaches.
https://www.derbyworld.co.uk/news/derby-council-hotel-asylum-seeker-5328181Home Office insists it will close every asylum seeker hotel after Derbyshire council demands timeline
Derbyshire Times · 2025
Derbyshire Times reports the Home Office stated it intends to close every asylum hotel after Derbyshire County Council demanded a published timeline.
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/home-office-insists-it-will-close-every-asylum-seeker-hotel-after-derbyshire-council-demands-timeline-5605192Council will investigate Derby asylum hotels to see if planning laws broken
Yahoo News UK · 2025
Yahoo News UK regional aggregation confirming Derby City Council will assess the Station Hotel and Midland Hotel on Midland Road for potential planning law breaches.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/council-investigate-derby-asylum-hotels-161612307.htmlGeorgian hotel to house asylum seekers after deal with Home Office
Express & Star · Mar 2022
Express & Star reports the Heath Hotel in Bewdley, run as the Mercure Bewdley The Heath Hotel, will house asylum seekers from late March 2022 under a Home Office deal alongside the Gainsborough House in Kidderminster.
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wyre-forest/kidderminster/2022/03/11/kidderminster-luxury-hotel-to-house-asylum-seekers-after-deal-with-home-office/Posh Burton hotel to house asylum seekers for three months
Staffordshire Live · Nov 2021
Staffordshire Live reports the four-star Mercure Burton upon Trent Newton Park in Newton Solney has been booked out by the Home Office to house asylum seekers for at least three months under a confidential contract.
https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/posh-burton-hotel-house-asylum-6219277MPs relief as asylum seekers leave Burton hotel
Yahoo News UK / Staffordshire Live · Apr 2024
Yahoo News UK regional aggregation reports that more than 100 asylum seekers will be moved out of the Mercure Burton Newton Park Hotel in Newton Solney by the end of April, ending a multi-year Home Office contract that had drawn parliamentary attention.
https://news.yahoo.com/mps-relief-asylum-seekers-leave-165454825.htmlClosed country house hotel in Burton-on-Trent hits the market for £2.5m
Boutique Hotelier · Jan 2025
Boutique Hotelier reports the Grade II listed Mercure Burton Newton Park Hotel was placed on the market for £2.5 million after closing as a Home Office asylum hotel.
https://www.boutiquehotelier.com/closed-country-house-hotel-in-burton-on-trent-hits-the-market-for-2-5m/Reading Festival-goers Mercure George Hotel booking cancelled for Afghan refugees
Berkshire Live · Aug 2021
Berkshire Live reports the Mercure George Hotel in Reading was taken over by the Home Office to house Afghan refugees, with festival bookings cancelled at short notice in August 2021.
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-festival-goers-shock-mecure-21379566Reading hotel asylum seekers left without medication for weeks, report finds
Berkshire Live · 2021
Berkshire Live reports on the Healthwatch Reading findings about the George Hotel, including breaks in medication and treatment for asylum seekers placed there during the pandemic.
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-hotel-asylum-seekers-report-20237834New figures reveal number of asylum seekers in hotels across Hertfordshire
The Comet · Aug 2025
The Comet reports Welwyn Hatfield is housing 238 asylum seekers in hotels (up from 190 in March 2025), with the Mercure Hatfield Oak among the named accommodation sites.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/25407324.new-figures-reveal-number-asylum-seekers-herts-hotels/Concerns raised about asylum seekers to share rooms in Paisley hotel
The Gazette (Paisley) · Aug 2023
The Gazette reports concerns from Renfrewshire councillors and elected members about a Home Office policy of room sharing at the Watermill Hotel in Paisley that could increase the number of asylum-seeking adults in local contingency hotels from 220 to 300.
https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/23811368.concerns-raised-asylum-seekers-share-rooms-paisley-hotel/Councillors raise concerns over asylum seekers forced to share hotel rooms in Paisley
STV News · Aug 2023
STV News reports Renfrewshire councillors raising concerns over a Home Office policy of room sharing at the Watermill Hotel in Paisley, with the Home Office confirming the change is mandatory.
https://news.stv.tv/west-central/councillors-raise-concerns-over-asylum-seekers-forced-to-share-hotel-rooms-in-paisleyHow asylum hotels became a far-right target
The Ferret · 2024
The Ferret investigation listing at least 15 hotels used in Scotland for asylum accommodation, including the Watermill Hotel in Paisley and Muthu Glasgow River in Erskine.
https://www.theferret.scot/asylum-hotels-explained/Closure of hotel housing asylum seekers in Muswell Hill imminent
Haringey Community Press · Apr 2024
Haringey Community Press reports the National Hotel on Queens Avenue in Muswell Hill, which has housed 24 asylum seekers, is set to close as Home Office contingency accommodation with closure imminent in April 2024.
https://haringeycommunitypress.co.uk/2024/04/02/closure-of-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-in-muswell-hill-imminent/Shameful: Asylum seekers to be removed from Muswell Hill by Home Office
Hackney Gazette · Dec 2022
Hackney Gazette reports seven asylum seekers housed in the National Hotel in Muswell Hill received Home Office letters informing them they would be moved to Napier Barracks in Folkestone.
https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/23205084.shameful-asylum-seekers-removed-muswell-hill/Borough appalled at decision to move asylum seekers to Napier Barracks
Local Government Chronicle · Dec 2022
Local Government Chronicle reports Haringey Council was appalled at the Home Office decision to move asylum seekers from the National Hotel in Muswell Hill to Napier Barracks.
https://www.lgcplus.com/services/housing/borough-appalled-at-decision-to-move-asylum-seekers-to-napier-barracks-21-12-2022/Shropshire barracks to be used to house 200 Afghan nationals who fled the Taliban
Shropshire Star · Nov 2023
Shropshire Star reports the Home Office plans to temporarily house around 200 Afghan nationals under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy at Nesscliffe Barracks in Shropshire from late 2023.
https://shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2023/11/30/200-afghans-set-to-be-housed-at-shropshire-barracks/North Herts hotel to stop housing asylum seekers, MP says
The Comet · 2026
The Comet reports the Home Office has triggered three months notice on its agreement to use the Needham House Hotel in Little Wymondley as asylum-seeker accommodation, ending a contract that had been in place since 2023.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/26035875.north-herts-hotel-stop-housing-asylum-seekers-mp-says/Needham House: Asylum seekers move into Little Wymondley hotel once again
The Comet · 2023
The Comet reports asylum seekers moved into the Needham House Hotel in Little Wymondley under a Home Office contract that had been agreed for around 230 residents.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/23660339.needham-house-hotel-asylum-seekers-move/North Herts Council raises concerns over asylum seekers staying at Needham House
The Comet · 2023
The Comet reports North Herts Council raised concerns with the Home Office over asylum-seeker placements at the Needham House Hotel in Little Wymondley.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/23541506.north-herts-councils-concerns-asylum-seekers-needham-house/Four councils in Northern Ireland making enquiries after Epping migrant hotel ruling
News Letter (Belfast) · Sep 2025
News Letter reports four Northern Irish councils, including Causeway Coast and Glens, made enquiries about migrant hotels including the OYO Rambler Inn in Portstewart following the Epping migrant hotel ruling.
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/four-councils-in-northern-ireland-making-enquiries-after-epping-migrant-hotel-ruling-5283512Asylum seekers in County Derry enriching local community
Derry Now · 2023
Derry Now reports asylum seekers housed at the Rambler Inn in Portstewart are integrating with the local community while their refugee claims are processed.
https://www.derrynow.com/news/home/1008679/asylum-seekers-in-county-derry-enriching-local-community.htmlCauseway Coast and Glens Council to seek clarification over asylum seeker plan obligations
Northern Ireland World · 2025
Northern Ireland World reports Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council seeking clarification on Home Office obligations regarding the OYO Rambler Inn and a possible second asylum hotel in the borough.
https://www.northernirelandworld.com/news/people/causeway-coast-glens-council-to-seek-clarification-over-asylum-seeker-plan-obligations-5421703Formal go-ahead sought for hotel asylum seeker scheme
Insider Media (Midlands) · 2024
Insider Media reports formal change-of-use planning permission has been sought for continued asylum-seeker use of the first and second floors of the Grade II listed Rowton Hotel in Alcester Street, Birmingham, since 16 October.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/midlands/formal-go-ahead-sought-for-hotel-asylum-seeker-schemeHistoric hotel used by asylum seekers up for sale
Birmingham Post (PressReader) · Feb 2022
Birmingham Post reports the Grade II listed Rowton Hotel on Alcester Street, Highgate, Birmingham has been used to house asylum seekers and was advertised for sale in early 2022.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/birmingham-post/20220203/281883006741422Hotel housing asylum seekers move under fire over secrecy
The Worcester Observer · Jan 2022
The Worcester Observer reports the OYO Evesham Hotel was used by Serco under a Home Office contract for asylum-seeker accommodation from January 2022, with the move criticised locally for limited consultation.
https://worcesterobserver.co.uk/news/hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-move-under-fire-over-secrecy/About: Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees
Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees / City of Sanctuary · 2024
Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees confirms the Evesham Hotel has been a place of refuge for asylum seekers since January 2022 under Serco management on behalf of the Home Office.
https://evesham.cityofsanctuary.org/who-we-support/Metropole Hotel one of five Serco sites which will close in coming months
Blackpool Lead · 2024
Blackpool Lead reports the OYO Evesham Hotel is among five Serco asylum-seeker sites scheduled to close in 2024 under the Home Office hotel-exit programme.
https://blackpool.thelead.uk/p/metropole-hotel-one-of-five-serco-asylum-hotel-closuresHundreds of Afghans who helped UK housed in Dorset military camp
ITV News West Country · Dec 2023
ITV News West Country reports that the MoD is using Chickerell Camp near Weymouth to accommodate Afghan families with the right to remain in the UK under ARAP, with up to 250 people at a time housed for up to six weeks while permanent accommodation is found.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-12-13/afghans-who-helped-uk-housed-in-dorset-military-campStatement on Afghan families temporarily staying at Chickerell Camp over Christmas
Chris Loder MP (West Dorset) · Dec 2023
Constituency MP statement confirming Afghan families began moving into Chickerell Camp from 13 December 2023 on a revolving basis for up to six months, while being relocated into permanent accommodation under ARAP.
https://www.chrisloder.co.uk/news/statement-afghan-families-temporarily-staying-chickerell-camp-over-christmasMPs praise local generosity and welcome Afghan citizens on visit to Chickerell Camp
Chris Loder MP (West Dorset) · 2024
Chris Loder reports a parliamentary visit to Chickerell Camp confirming continued ARAP use and praising Dorset community support for the Afghan families housed at the site.
https://www.chrisloder.co.uk/news/mps-praise-local-generosity-and-welcome-afghan-citizens-visit-chickerell-campThousands of Afghans secretly flown to new life on military bases in UK
The National · Jul 2024
The National confirms Chickerell Camp in Dorset is one of several MoD bases housing Afghans relocated to the UK, alongside Garats Hay (Leicestershire) and Larkhill (Wiltshire).
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2024/07/31/thousands-of-afghans-secretly-flown-to-new-lives-on-military-bases-in-uk/Donations required as Weymouth welcomes Afghan families
Dorset Eye · Dec 2023
Local Dorset news confirms Afghan families moved into Chickerell Camp from December 2023 with community donation drives organised to support them.
https://dorseteye.com/donations-required-as-weymouth-welcomes-afghan-families/Afghan refugee's anger at living in Yorkshire hotel for a 'wasted' year
Yorkshire Live (Examiner Live) · 2022
Yorkshire Live profiles Marwa Koofi, an Afghan refugee who fled Kabul when the city fell to the Taliban, describing her as having wasted a year of her life at the Yorkshire Gateway Hotel near Junction 42 of the A1(M) because the location was too remote to reach work, English classes or services.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/afghan-refugees-anger-living-yorkshire-24676029Anger as asylum seekers to be 'dumped' at Yorkshire hotel where Afghan woman 'wasted a year' of her life
Yorkshire Live (Examiner Live) · 2023
Yorkshire Live reports the Home Office announced the Yorkshire Gateway Hotel near South Milford and Selby would be used to house single asylum seekers after Afghan families had been moved out, with North Yorkshire councillors raising concerns about its remote location and limited access to services.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/anger-asylum-seekers-dumped-hotel-24835893Home Office moved 178 asylum seekers into Stevenage hotel with just 24 hours notice
HertsLive (Hertfordshire Mercury) · Dec 2022
HertsLive reports the Home Office gave Stevenage Borough Council just 24 hours notice on Saturday 3 December 2022 before moving 178 asylum seekers into the town centre Ibis hotel on Danestrete near the Westgate Shopping Centre.
https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/hertfordshire-news/home-office-moved-178-asylum-7906324No arrests made after protest outside Stevenage asylum hotel
The Comet · 2023
The Comet reports a protest outside the Ibis hotel on Danestrete in Stevenage town centre over its use to house asylum seekers, with no arrests made by Hertfordshire Police.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/25414523.no-arrests-made-protest-outside-stevenage-asylum-hotel/Number of asylum seekers housed in Stevenage and North Herts hotels drops
The Comet · 2026
The Comet reports that as of summer 2025 the Novotel and the Ibis in the town centre were accommodating a combined total of around 322 asylum seekers, with 178 in the town centre Ibis on Danestrete near the Westgate Shopping Centre.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/25889908.asylum-seekers-stevenage-north-herts-hotels-drop/Stevenage council probe into planning breaches at asylum hotels
The Comet · 2025
The Comet reports Stevenage Borough Council launched a planning enforcement probe covering both the Novotel at Knebworth Park and the Ibis on Danestrete, arguing the long-term Home Office contracts amounted to use as a hostel rather than a hotel.
https://www.thecomet.net/news/25408579.stevenage-council-probe-planning-breaches-asylum-hotels/Asylum seekers contingency accommodation at Ibis Hotel update
Crick Parish Council · Nov 2022
Crick Parish Council confirms the Ibis Rugby East at Parklands has been taken into Home Office contingency use, noting the council had no consultation, that the hotel sits in a remote location with no facilities close by, and that residents include single adult men.
https://www.crickparishcouncil.gov.uk/news/2022/11/asylum-seekers-contingency-accommodation-at-ibis-hotel-updateAsylum seekers welcomed by Crick community as more than 160 are currently housed at nearby hotel
Northampton Chronicle · 2023
Northampton Chronicle reports more than 160 asylum seekers from Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Syria and Iran are housed at the Ibis Rugby East near Crick, with around 250 people attending a community event including more than half of the asylum seekers staying at the hotel.
https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/people/asylum-seekers-welcomed-by-crick-community-as-more-than-160-are-currently-housed-at-nearby-hotel-4054677Northamptonshire villagers say they are 'extremely concerned' with nearby hotel housing asylum seekers
Northampton Chronicle · 2025
Northampton Chronicle reports Crick villagers raised concerns about behaviour around the Ibis Rugby East hotel, with police taking enforcement action and Crick Parish Council noting the decision to use the hotel was a Central Government decision unsupported by West Northamptonshire Council or the parish council.
https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/crime/northamptonshire-villagers-say-they-are-extremely-concerned-with-nearby-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-5261501Northamptonshire villagers enlist migrant charity help to support asylum seekers sent to local hotel
Daventry Express · 2023
Daventry Express reports Crick villagers worked with the Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council to support asylum seekers sent to the Ibis Rugby East under Home Office contingency contracts.
https://www.daventryexpress.co.uk/news/people/northamptonshire-villagers-enlist-migrant-charitys-help-to-support-asylum-seekers-sent-to-local-hotel-3905741Northamptonshire: Villagers call for curfew as 'rowdy' migrants turn local park into 'no go zone'
GB News · 2024
GB News reports calls from Crick residents for a curfew at the Ibis Rugby East hotel, citing complaints about anti-social behaviour at a local park used by Home Office contingency residents.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/northamptonshire-villagers-curfew-rowdy-migrants-local-park'Serious concerns' raised as another Northamptonshire hotel set to be used 'imminently' for asylum seekers
Northampton Chronicle · 2024
Northampton Chronicle reports West Northamptonshire Council raised serious concerns about Home Office contingency asylum use across Northamptonshire hotels including the Ibis Rugby East at Crick.
https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/politics/council/serious-concerns-raised-as-another-northamptonshire-hotel-set-to-be-used-imminently-for-asylum-seekers-4887918English for every day project benefits local asylum seekers
Redbridge Institute (council-funded adult education) · 2023
Redbridge Institute, the council-funded adult education college, confirms the Ibis Hotel in Seven Kings has 92 rooms accommodating more than 150 asylum seekers from Eritrea, Sudan, Iran and Iraq, with 51 learners enrolled in ESOL classes funded through the Home Office initial accommodation contract.
https://www.redbridge-iae.ac.uk/news/english-for-every-day-project-benefits-local-asylum-seekers/New Ibis hotel opens in Seven Kings
Ilford Recorder · Nov 2020
Ilford Recorder reports the opening of a new ibis Styles hotel at 1 Cameron Road in Seven Kings (Redbridge) with 92 rooms across seven floors, marketed as a budget hotel option for the Ilford area.
https://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/business/21171911.new-ibis-hotel-opens-seven-kings/Help is at hand for 'traumatised' Afghan refugees as they begin a new life
Bishop's Stortford Independent · 2022
Bishop's Stortford Independent profiles Afghan refugees relocated to the area, with the Ibis Budget on Birchanger Lane near Stansted Airport identified as one of the bridging hotels used during the post-Operation Pitting evacuation period.
https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/help-is-at-hand-for-traumatised-afghan-refugees-as-they-be-9215789/Wiltshire Police to facilitate lawful protest outside Swindon hotel
Wiltshire 999s · Aug 2025
Wiltshire 999s reports Wiltshire Police facilitating lawful protest and counter protest outside the Thistle Express on Fleming Way Swindon on 30 August 2025 over the Government's policy of housing asylum seekers in the hotel; Superintendent Mark Lynch confirmed the protest passed peacefully with no arrests.
https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/wiltshire-police-facilitate-protest-swindon-hotel/Hundreds of protestors and counter-protestors face off in Swindon town centre with heavy police presence
Swindon Link · Aug 2025
Swindon Link reports hundreds of protestors and counter protestors at the Thistle Express in Swindon town centre on 30 August 2025 with heavy Wiltshire Police presence, organised against the Government's policy of housing asylum seekers in the hotel.
https://swindonlink.com/news/protest-thistle/Protest against asylum seeker hotels may take place in Swindon
Wiltshire 999s · Aug 2025
Wiltshire 999s details the Thistle Express hotel on Fleming Way near Islington Street in central Swindon, naming the site as common knowledge as housing asylum seekers, with security staff at the entrance and the hotel no longer taking bookings from regular customers.
https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/protest-asylum-seeker-hotels-may-swindon/Asylum seeker hotel allowed to remain a hostel
Birkenhead News · Jun 2023
Birkenhead News reports Wirral Council planning committee voting eight to three to grant retrospective planning permission to convert the former Grove House Hotel in Wallasey from a hotel to a hostel for asylum seekers, with three Conservative councillors voting against; the building had been housing asylum seekers since October 2021.
https://www.birkenhead.news/asylum-seeker-hotel-allowed-to-remain-a-hostel/Planning application for the former Grove House Hotel
Wallasey & Birkenhead Conservative Federation · 2023
Local Conservative federation statement objecting to the retrospective hotel-to-hostel application at the former Grove House Hotel in Wallasey citing welfare of neighbours and asylum seekers, removal of trees without permission, rubbish on site and a perimeter fence restricting garden access for residents.
https://www.wallaseyconservatives.com/news/planning-application-former-grove-house-hotelGloucestershire care home to house people granted asylum in UK
ITV News West Country · Dec 2023
ITV News West Country reports Wheatridge Court in Abbeydale Gloucester, a 36 unit former care home owned by Gloucestershire County Council, prepared to welcome refugees granted leave to remain after they have been required to leave Home Office hotel accommodation, providing short term supported housing in 30 rooms and two bungalows.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-12-26/underused-care-home-to-house-people-granted-asylum-in-ukFormer Gloucester care home to continue to be used to house refugees granted leave to remain
Gloucester News Centre · 2025
Gloucester News Centre confirms Wheatridge Court will continue to be used to house refugees granted leave to remain following Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet decision; the site received up to £600,000 of Home Office migrant grant funding for its first year of operation.
https://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk/former-gloucester-care-home-to-continue-to-be-used-to-house-refugees-granted-leave-to-remain/Hull University rules out sale of former student halls in Cottingham to the Home Office to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers
Yorkshire Post · 2024
Yorkshire Post reports the University of Hull confirming it will not sell the Lawns and Ferens Hall to the Home Office for asylum accommodation following resident protests, while noting that Thwaite Hall in Thwaite Street Cottingham, another former University of Hull student hall now in private ownership, has been used to house up to 200 asylum seekers since June 2023.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/hull-university-rules-out-sale-of-former-student-halls-in-cottingham-to-the-home-office-to-house-more-than-1000-asylum-seekers-3980796University REJECTS proposal to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers in former student halls
GB News · 2024
GB News reports the University of Hull rejecting the proposed sale of Lawns and Ferens Hall in Cottingham for asylum accommodation, while confirming that Thwaite Hall in the same village, a former student hall now privately owned, was already housing 200 asylum seekers awaiting decisions on their claims.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/university-rejects-proposal-to-house-more-than-1000-asylum-seekers-in-former-student-halls/421793University U-turns on plans to sell student accommodation to be used by asylum seekers after protests from local residents
RMX News · 2024
RMX News reports University of Hull u-turn on the Cottingham student halls sale, with the village of about 17,000 people already hosting 200 asylum seekers at Thwaite Hall, a former student accommodation now under private ownership and used as Home Office contingency accommodation.
http://rmx.news/uk/university-u-turns-on-plans-to-sell-student-accommodation-to-be-used-by-asylum-seekers-after-protests-from-local-residents/Concerns raised over living conditions for family of asylum seekers from Sudan living with two disabled children in one room at Belfast hotel
The Irish News · Aug 2023
The Irish News reports a family from Sudan with two disabled children living for 11 months in a single room at the Wellington Park Hotel in south Belfast, with the room provided by a private company contracted by the Home Office to supply asylum accommodation through the Mears Group.
https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2023/08/10/news/concern_raised_over_treatment_of_wheelchair_bound_child_asylum_seekers-3519837/Major rise in hotel use for asylum-seekers: It feels like we are in a prison
The Detail (Northern Ireland) · Sep 2022
The Detail investigation finds asylum-seeker placements in Northern Ireland hotels rising from 14 in June 2021 to 1,067 by April 2022, with the Wellington Park Hotel in south Belfast among the contracted Mears Group sites; Mears holds a 113 million pound Home Office contract running to August 2029.
https://www.thedetail.tv/articles/major-rise-in-hotel-use-for-asylum-seekers-it-feels-like-we-are-in-a-prisonIt's no secret: Asylum seekers have been housed in hotel for three years
Bristol Live / Bristol Post · 2025
Bristol Live confirms Winford Manor in Regil North Somerset has been used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers since September 2022, with Clearsprings managing 36 rooms accommodating families and individuals from Syria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somaliland and Georgia.
https://www.facebook.com/bristol.live/posts/winford-manor-has-been-used-by-the-home-office-since-september-2022/1208206828014343/Migrant crisis: Fury as historic country hotel to be used to house migrants
GB News · 2025
GB News covers the use of the 17th century Winford Manor in North Somerset for asylum accommodation, including Jacob Rees Mogg's on site GB News segment and renewed local resident anxieties about the country house being run by Clearsprings on behalf of the Home Office.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/migrant-crisis-historic-country-house-hotelWe don't feel safe say locals living near 17th century country estate used to house asylum seekers
Bristol World · 2024
Bristol World reports residents near Winford Manor saying they no longer feel safe in their village, with the 17th century country estate housing asylum seekers including children aged 3 to 14 under Home Office contingency arrangements managed by Clearsprings since September 2022.
https://www.bristolworld.com/news/we-dont-feel-safe-say-locals-living-near-17th-century-country-estate-used-to-house-asylum-seekers-5297686Reading hotel guests turfed out after sudden takeover by UK Government
Berkshire Live · 2020
Berkshire Live (getreading.co.uk) reports the Ibis Styles on Oxford Road Reading taken over for long term exclusive use by the UK Government to house asylum seekers, with paying guests turfed out at short notice; the property was later rebranded as the Tulip Styles Hotel.
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/reading-hotel-guests-turfed-out-21040230Home Office gives response after disturbance at asylum seeker hotel in Reading
Wokingham.Today · 2025
Wokingham.Today reports a Home Office response after a disturbance at the Tulip Styles asylum seeker hotel in Reading, naming the site as a 97 bedroom former Ibis hotel currently housing men from Afghanistan, Iran and other countries while their claims are processed.
https://wokingham.today/home-office-gives-response-after-disturbance-at-asylum-seeker-hotel-in-reading/Asylum seekers moved out of two Calderdale hotels
Halifax Courier · Apr 2026
Halifax Courier reports the Home Office confirmed The Wool Merchant Hotel in Halifax and The Rock Hotel in Holywell Green will no longer be used to house people fleeing their homes, with residents relocated as part of the April 2026 hotel-exit programme.
https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/asylum-seekers-moved-out-of-two-calderdale-hotels-6575560Two West Yorkshire hotels closed to asylum seekers
Yorkshire Live · Apr 2026
Yorkshire Live reports OYO The Rock Hotel in Holywell Green and the Wool Merchant Hotel in Halifax are among the eleven asylum hotels closed by the Home Office in April 2026, with the closures projected to save nearly £65 million per year.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/two-west-yorkshire-hotels-closed-33774174Witney hotel housing asylum seekers goes up for sale
Cotswold Journal · 2023
Cotswold Journal reports the former Four Pillars Witney hotel on Ducklington Lane, used to house asylum seekers under a Home Office contract since November 2022, was advertised for sale during 2023 while still occupied as asylum accommodation.
https://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/23833981.witney-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-goes-sale/Home Office update on Oxfordshire town's asylum seeker hotel amid closures
Yahoo News UK / Oxford Mail · 2025
Yahoo News UK reports the Home Office extended its contract at the former Witney Four Pillars hotel through to December 2025, even as the wider hotel-exit programme accelerated, with West Oxfordshire District Council confirming it remains a multi-agency support partner but is not party to the contract.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/home-office-oxfordshire-towns-asylum-150000992.htmlEssex Tories tell Home Secretary that Epping and North Weald asylum hotels must close
Bishops Stortford Independent · Aug 2025
Bishops Stortford Independent reports five Essex Conservative leaders writing to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper demanding the Phoenix Hotel near North Weald and the Bell Hotel in Epping cease use as asylum accommodation, after a man was charged with arson at both sites.
https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/essex-tories-tell-home-secretary-that-epping-asylum-hotel-mu-9427643/Councillor thanks emergency services after large fire at home that houses asylum seekers
Your Harlow · Mar 2025
Your Harlow reports a March 2025 fire at the Phoenix Hotel near North Weald that destroyed an entire wing of the building, with ten fire engines deployed; the building houses asylum seekers under a Home Office contract.
https://www.yourharlow.com/2025/03/29/councillor-thanks-emergency-services-after-large-fire-at-home-that-houses-asylum-seekers/Over the border: Parish Council opposes plan to create more rooms for asylum seekers
Your Harlow · Jan 2024
Your Harlow reports North Weald Bassett Parish Council opposing plans to add 18 additional rooms at the Phoenix Hotel on the A414, currently used to accommodate asylum seekers, on road safety grounds.
https://www.yourharlow.com/2024/01/28/over-the-border-parish-council-opposes-plan-to-create-more-rooms-for-asylum-seekers/Home Office to use Sharnbrook Hotel to house asylum seekers
Bedford Independent · Feb 2023
Bedford Independent reports the Sharnbrook Hotel on Park Lane was sold by the Ciampi family on 1 February 2023 with contracts exchanged in advance of the Home Office plan to use the 42 en suite bedroom site for asylum-seeker accommodation, with families and single females expected.
https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/home-office-to-use-sharnbrook-hotel-to-house-asylum-seekers/Second Bedfordshire hotel closes after reportedly accepting Home Office contract
Bedfordshire Live · 2023
Bedfordshire Live reports the Sharnbrook Hotel was the second Bedfordshire hotel to close to the public after reportedly accepting a Home Office asylum accommodation contract.
https://www.bedfordshirelive.co.uk/news/bedfordshire-news/second-bedfordshire-hotel-closes-after-8120213Devastated couple's wedding cancelled as hotel puts up asylum seekers
ITV News Anglia · Jan 2023
ITV News Anglia reports a couple whose wedding was cancelled at short notice after the Sharnbrook Hotel was taken over for Home Office asylum accommodation in early 2023.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-01-28/devastated-couples-wedding-cancelled-as-hotel-puts-up-asylum-seekersSkylark Hotel in Essex housing asylum seekers as national debate intensifies
Your Southend · Aug 2025
Your Southend reports the Skylark Hotel on Aviation Way next to Southend Airport has been used by the Home Office for asylum-seeker accommodation since 2022 under a contract that has been extended several times, with families and single residents still housed at the site.
https://www.yoursouthend.co.uk/skylark-hotel-in-essex-housing-asylum-seekers-as-national-debate-intensifies/New government figures show drop in asylum seekers living in Essex hotels
Echo / Gazette News · Feb 2026
Echo / Gazette News reports the number of asylum seekers in Rochford district hotels fell from 138 to 99 in the year to February 2026, a 25 per cent decrease driven by Home Office consolidation, with the Skylark Hotel cited as the principal site in Rochford.
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/25894727.number-asylum-seekers-chelmsford-hotels-falls/UK Essex local council urged for closure of asylum seekers hotel
JURIST · Jul 2025
JURIST reports calls from Reform UK Southend Council leader Cllr Tony Cox for the Skylark Hotel near Southend Airport to be closed to asylum-seeker accommodation, citing the Epping Forest Bell Hotel injunction as a possible precedent.
https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/07/uk-essex-local-council-urged-for-closure-of-asylum-seekers-hotel/Best Western Palm Hotel: 64-76 Hendon Way NW2 2NL (formerly the Garth)
Milesfaster (London hotel directory) · 2021
Milesfaster London hotel directory entry for the Best Western Palm Hotel at 64 to 76 Hendon Way, Childs Hill, identifying the property as formerly the Garth Hotel and noting the Hendon Way location near Brent Cross.
https://www.milesfaster.co.uk/hotels/london/nw2/palm-hotel.htmAfghan refugees who served alongside UK armed forces to be housed at RAF Henlow
Biggleswade Today · 2024
Biggleswade Today reports Central Bedfordshire Council approved Home Office funding for fifteen Afghan refugee families to be housed in vacant Ministry of Defence properties at RAF Henlow for three years under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
https://www.biggleswadetoday.co.uk/news/people/afghan-refugees-who-served-alongside-uk-armed-forces-to-be-housed-at-raf-henlow-4510211Indian investor acquires Ramada Birmingham Solihull hotel
The Caterer · 2012
The Caterer reports the 145 bedroom Ramada Birmingham Solihull, set within a 16th century Grade II listed building on The Square, was acquired by SGS Hotels (UK), a subsidiary of the Indian Subhash Gulati Group, for £7.5 million; the same group later signed the Home Office asylum accommodation agreement.
https://www.thecaterer.com/news/news/indian-investor-acquires-ramada-birmingham-solihull-hotelHundreds take part in protests near asylum hotel
BBC News · Jul 2025
BBC News reports hundreds of protesters and counter protesters gathered near the Richmond Apart-Hotel on Hatton Garden in Liverpool city centre during the summer 2025 wave of demonstrations targeting hotels housing asylum seekers, with Merseyside Police deployed to keep the groups apart.
https://x.com/BBCNews/status/1946094460858724368UK police clash with far-right rioters who tried to storm hotel housing asylum seekers
PBS NewsHour · Aug 2025
PBS NewsHour reports UK police clashes with protesters who attempted to storm asylum hotels including the Richmond Apart-Hotel in Liverpool during the summer 2025 wave of demonstrations.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/uk-police-clash-with-far-right-rioters-who-tried-to-storm-hotel-housing-asylum-seekersLiverpool aparthotel faces license review over serious crime link
Serviced Apartment News · 2024
Serviced Apartment News reports the Richmond Apart-Hotel on Hatton Garden in Liverpool faces a licence review over a serious crime link, after Merseyside Police raided the premises during pandemic restrictions and found over two hundred people present.
https://servicedapartmentnews.com/news/industry/liverpool-aparthotel-faces-license-review-over-serious-crime-link/Council clears up rumours about Feltham hotel
Hounslow Herald · 2024
Hounslow Herald reports Hounslow Council clearing up rumours about the St Giles Hotel near Feltham Station, confirming the site continues to house families and single women only and is not changing to all-male asylum accommodation despite social media claims.
https://hounslowherald.com/council-clears-up-rumours-about-feltham-hotel-p28814-95.htmRefugees are being housed in infested hotels by the Home Office's slum landlords
Corporate Watch · 2023
Corporate Watch reports refugees are being housed in poor conditions at sites including the St Giles Hotel near Heathrow, naming the property as part of the Home Office contingency estate operated under privatised AASC contracts since 2012.
https://corporatewatch.org/refugees-are-being-housed-in-an-infested-hotel-while-the-home-offices-slum-landlords-are-raking-it-in/TLK building St Mary Cray: Bromley Council denies online rumours
News Shopper / This Is Local London · Aug 2025
News Shopper reports Bromley Council denying false online rumours about the TLK migrant hostel in St Mary Cray, confirming the residents are families, women and children rather than the single young men claimed on social media, and that no police investigations are under way concerning residents.
https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/25412267.tlk-building-st-mary-cray-bromley-council-denies-online-rumours/Bromley to come out once more against the fascist far-right
The Canary · Aug 2025
The Canary reports counter mobilisation in Bromley against a Great British National Protest demonstration outside TLK Apartments in Orpington on 22 August 2025, framing it within the wider summer 2025 wave of anti asylum hotel protests.
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2025/08/22/bromley-immigrant-protests/Outrage as asylum seekers move in to Chelmsford luxury apartments
GB News · Jul 2023
GB News reports the Home Office has taken control of all 98 newly converted luxury apartments at King William Court (1 Legg Street, Chelmsford) for 18 months to two years to house asylum seekers awaiting processing, with dozens of migrants already moved in. Chelmsford City Council confirmed it had only limited grounds for legal challenge against the Home Office and did not intend to take court action.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/essex-news-chelmsford-asylum-seekersAsylum seekers scared after angry protests outside Chelmsford flats
Essex Live (via Yahoo News) · Nov 2025
Essex Live reports that asylum seekers at King William Court in Chelmsford city centre felt unsafe after a 7 November 2025 protest at Springfield Road by groups carrying Union and St George flags chanting stop the boats and send them home. Government data cited 341 asylum seekers in Chelmsford and 708 of Essex 2,704 asylum seekers in hotel accommodation. Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman called it heartbreaking that asylum seekers had felt unsafe.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/asylum-seekers-scared-angry-protests-160000718.htmlThe former Limes care centre to house unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
Kent Online · Dec 2023
Kent Online reports KCC will repurpose the former Limes care home in Brent Lane, Dartford to temporarily house unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Quotes Dartford MP Gareth Johnson calling the location totally unsuitable due to the residential nature, KCC Leader Roger Gough citing dramatic increase in UASC arrivals, and resident complaints that no resident meetings had been held before work started.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/work-underway-on-care-home-for-asylum-seeking-children-298765/Kent County Council rubbishes claims the former Limes care home is housing adult asylum seekers
Kent Online · Nov 2025
Kent Online reports KCC dismissing Britain First claims that The Limes is housing adult male asylum seekers. KCC stated the site opened as Ofsted-registered supported accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in September 2024 and has never been used for adult asylum seekers; reception centres are temporary homes for children waiting to be transferred via the National Transfer Scheme.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/claims-former-care-home-is-housing-adult-asylum-seekers-dism-332406/Hundreds sign petition against Reception Centre for unaccompanied asylum seeker children in Brent Lane, Dartford
Kent Online · 2024
Kent Online reports a local petition opposing the conversion of The Limes care home in Brent Lane, Dartford into an asylum-seeking-children reception centre, gathering hundreds of signatures from residents concerned about consultation, location and traffic.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/hundreds-sign-petition-against-centre-for-unaccompanied-asyl-299618/Burrows Court
Wikipedia · Apr 2026
Burrows Court is a 21 storey 61 metre tower block in Sneinton, Nottingham, the third tallest residential building in the city. Decommissioned by Nottingham City Council in 2005, refurbished and reopened in 2021, then reported in 2022 to be housing asylum seekers and refugees in around 127 of its flats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrows_CourtAsylum seekers sleeping on floor at block of flats
Nottingham Post · 2022
Nottingham Post reports broken furniture, mouldy food in fridges and mattresses with visible holes inside Burrows Court in Sneinton, with elderly people and children forced to sleep in broken beds and some residents opting to sleep on the floor because the beds were unusable.
https://www.magzter.com/stories/newspaper/Nottingham-Post/ASYLUM-SEEKERS-SLEEPING-ON-FLOOR-AT-BLOCK-OF-FLATSClosed care home in Clevedon to be used to house refugees
ITV News West Country · Mar 2022
ITV News West Country reports the closed Arrigadeen Nursing Home in Clevedon will be converted by Lindley Investments under a Home Office contract into a 21 person house in multiple occupation for young single female asylum seekers and small families with children.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-03-15/closed-care-home-to-be-used-to-house-refugeesPlans for closed Clevedon nursing home labelled glorified bed and breakfast
North Somerset Times · 2022
North Somerset Times reports Lindley Investments Ltd submitted plans to convert the former Arrigadeen Nursing Home off Cambridge Road into a 21 room house in multiple occupation after previous planning permission to turn it into houses and flats had lapsed.
https://www.northsomersettimes.co.uk/news/housing/20402959.plans-closed-clevedon-nursing-home-labelled-glorified-bed-breakfast/Asylum seekers to be housed in former Huddersfield student accommodation within months
ITV News Calendar · Mar 2024
ITV News Calendar reports the former HD1 studio student flats on Manchester Road in Huddersfield will be used to house up to 670 asylum seekers, beginning with single adult men aged 18 to 65, after about 168 students were displaced when the Home Office took the site over.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2024-03-01/former-student-flats-to-house-asylum-seekers-within-months670 asylum seekers to move into Huddersfield in a few months as Home Office confirms plans
Yorkshire Live (Examiner) · Mar 2024
Yorkshire Live confirms the Home Office plan to move 670 asylum seekers into the former student flats on Manchester Road, Huddersfield, in phases starting with single adult men aged 18 to 65, with Kirklees Council having raised major concerns about the proposal in summer 2023.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/670-asylum-seekers-move-huddersfield-28727354Mystery over future of refurbished town centre flats planned for 670 asylum seekers
Huddersfield Hub · 2024
Huddersfield Hub documents continuing uncertainty over when residents would actually move into the Manchester Road site after the Home Office originally indicated they would arrive in 2024, noting the refurbished block remained empty despite confirmed plans.
https://huddersfieldhub.co.uk/mystery-over-future-of-refurbished-town-centre-flats-planned-for-670-asylum-seekers/Plans to transform Huddersfield site into asylum seeker homes to be made in due course
Yorkshire Live (Examiner) · Oct 2025
Yorkshire Live reports the National Audit Office finding that the Home Office originally projected the Huddersfield Manchester Road site would cost twenty three million less than the equivalent hotel use but more recent figures show it will cost two million more, with a projected total spend of about three hundred and fifty eight million pounds between 2024 and 2033.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/plans-transform-huddersfield-site-asylum-32647099Derby Asylum Seeker accommodation is a classic local engagement failure case study
The Consultation Institute · 2017
The Consultation Institute case study on Derby asylum seeker accommodation documenting the proposal for a 240 place asylum seeker centre at Laverstoke Court in Peet Street with G4S as the named contractor and Urban Housing Services as the operating subcontractor, with residents to stay roughly three weeks while applications were processed before being moved to dispersed accommodation.
https://www.consultationinstitute.org/consultation-news/derby-asylum-seeker-accommodation-classic-local-engagement-failure-case-study/Wedding day chaos for many as Dunstable's prestigious Old Palace Lodge closes for Government contract
Luton Today · Jan 2023
Luton Today reports the Old Palace Lodge in Dunstable closed to the public with immediate effect on 22 January 2023 after its owners accepted a Home Office contract, with the closure cancelling weddings and other functions booked at the four star Church Street site.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/wedding-day-chaos-as-dunstables-old-palace-lodge-closes-at-short-notice-for-government-contract-3997175Old Palace Lodge: Around 90 adult male asylum seekers placed at Dunstable hotel — but 'no issues' to date
Luton Today · Feb 2023
Luton Today reports around 90 single adult male asylum seekers were transferred to the Old Palace Lodge from another contingency hotel reaching the end of its contract, with a Clearsprings Ready Homes contract for around 150 beds of temporary accommodation in place between the hotel owners and the Home Office sub contractor.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/old-palace-lodge-around-90-adult-male-asylum-seekers-placed-at-dunstable-hotel-but-no-issues-to-date-4030848Old Palace Lodge: Dunstable hotel had refused Home Office plans before financial pressures forced it to accept 'with a heavy heart'
Luton Today · Feb 2023
Luton Today reports the Old Palace Lodge owners said they had previously refused Home Office plans to use the hotel for asylum accommodation before financial pressures forced them to accept the contract with a heavy heart, citing energy bills that had risen from £4,600 to almost £27,000 per month in 2022 alongside higher interest rates and post pandemic borrowing costs.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/old-palace-lodge-dunstable-hotel-had-refused-home-office-plans-to-house-asylum-seekers-before-financial-pressures-forced-it-to-accept-with-a-heavy-heart-4031910Old Palace Lodge: Dunstable residents demand answers from MP after packed public meeting
Luton Today · Feb 2023
Luton Today reports a packed public meeting held in the Priory Church on 16 February 2023, chaired by Town Mayor Cllr Liz Jones with Andrew Selous MP, Old Palace Lodge representative ViV Vayssieres and Inspector Cray Burch of Bedfordshire Police on the panel, with Bedfordshire Police officers stationed outside to keep the meeting from being disrupted.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/old-palace-lodge-dunstable-residents-demand-answers-from-mp-after-packed-public-meeting-to-discuss-shock-hotel-closure-4002162'far-right' activist applauded amid high tensions at Dunstable's Old Palace Lodge meeting
Luton Today · Feb 2023
Luton Today reports the public meeting on the Old Palace Lodge at the Priory Church on 16 February 2023 saw a Patriotic Alternative activist take the floor and receive applause from a section of the audience, with Bedfordshire Police outside the venue to maintain order during the event.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/far-right-activist-applauded-amid-high-tensions-at-dunstables-old-palace-lodge-meeting-4036198Paperwork delays mean asylum seekers in Dunstable's Old Palace Lodge have been there more than six months
Luton Today · 2023
Luton Today reports at least 80 of 132 asylum seekers accommodated at the Old Palace Lodge had been at the site for more than six months because of Home Office paperwork delays, well beyond the short stay framing originally given for the Dunstable contingency hotel.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/politics/council/paperwork-delays-mean-asylum-seekers-in-dunstables-old-palace-lodge-have-been-there-more-than-six-months-4361009Asylum seekers to leave Dunstable hotel after Home Office ends contract with Old Palace Lodge
Luton Today · 2024
Luton Today reports the Home Office terminated its contract with the Old Palace Lodge, confirming the four star Dunstable hotel would cease housing asylum seekers before the end of June 2024 with current residents moved to other parts of the asylum estate.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/asylum-seekers-to-leave-dunstable-hotel-after-home-office-ends-contract-with-old-palace-lodge-4582665Old Palace Lodge: Row continues over Dunstable hotel's Home Office contract
Bedfordshire Live · Feb 2023
Bedfordshire Live reports the Old Palace Lodge on Church Street in Dunstable closed unexpectedly on 22 January 2023 to take a Home Office asylum accommodation contract, with Central Bedfordshire Council and Dunstable Town Council criticising the lack of advance information about who would be placed there or what local support would be put in place.
https://www.bedfordshirelive.co.uk/news/bedfordshire-news/old-palace-lodge-row-continues-8119634Old Palace Lodge: Council confirm more than 90 asylum seekers are living inside Dunstable hotel
Bedfordshire Live · Feb 2023
Bedfordshire Live reports Central Bedfordshire Council confirming more than 90 asylum seekers from Nigeria, Syria and Afghanistan were living inside the Old Palace Lodge in Dunstable, sourced from a longer Home Office contingency hotel transfer pipeline.
https://www.bedfordshirelive.co.uk/news/bedfordshire-news/old-palace-lodge-council-confirm-8167857Couple's wedding cancelled as Home Office uses Bedfordshire hotel to house refugees
ITV News Anglia · Jan 2023
ITV News Anglia reports a Bedfordshire couple whose wedding at the Old Palace Lodge in Dunstable was cancelled at short notice when the Home Office took the hotel for asylum accommodation in January 2023.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-01-28/devastated-couples-wedding-cancelled-as-hotel-puts-up-asylum-seekersStop housing asylum seekers in hotels, says Bedfordshire MP Andrew Selous
ITV News Anglia · Feb 2023
ITV News Anglia reports South West Bedfordshire MP Andrew Selous calling for an end to the use of hotels for asylum accommodation in the wake of the Old Palace Lodge contract in Dunstable, citing the impact on the town and the failure of Home Office consultation.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-02-22/stop-housing-asylum-seekers-in-hotels-says-mpAsylum Seekers in South London Are Resisting Removal to a Bedfordshire Hotel Targeted by the far-right
Novara Media · Mar 2023
Novara Media reports asylum seekers in South London resisting Home Office removal to the Old Palace Lodge in Dunstable after Patriotic Alternative leaflets named the site and protests took place in the area, with residents reporting being followed and filmed when they ventured outside.
https://novaramedia.com/2023/03/03/asylum-seekers-in-south-london-are-resisting-removal-to-a-bedfordshire-hotel-targeted-by-the-far-right/Official Government Data vs Media Reports
Official sources — NAO reports, Home Office statistical releases, parliamentary records — are primary data, produced by the bodies directly responsible for managing or auditing asylum spending. They form the backbone of the figures on this site.
Media reports (BBC, Reuters, The Guardian) serve a complementary role. Investigative journalists often surface FOI responses or leaked documents before they appear in formal publications. A media-only figure is treated as provisional until an official source confirms it. When outlets and government publications agree, that convergence strengthens confidence; when they diverge, the discrepancy is noted and the reported range is shown rather than picked over.
See how these sources feed into our calculations.
Methodology →