Britannia Hotel Leeds Seacroft

The Britannia Hotel Leeds sits on Mill Green View in the Seacroft area of east Leeds, on the edge of one of the largest council estates in western Europe. The site was previously known as the Old Windmill Hotel before joining the Britannia chain owned by Alex Langsam.

The Yorkshire and Humber asylum accommodation contract is held by Mears Group, which has used the hotel as contingency accommodation since 2021. Local petitioners and the local Conservative MP have repeatedly raised the proximity of the hotel to family housing and primary schools.

On Friday 1 August 2025 a flash protest organised by anti-asylum groups including Patriotic Alternative and the Yorkshire Patriots gathered outside the hotel. The Morning Star reported that rocks were thrown at the windows of the building during the gathering, with residents told to remain inside until additional police arrived^[2]Press.

National World reported that anti racism counter protesters mobilised by Stand Up To Racism, Newcastle Unites and similar networks ultimately outnumbered the original gathering, with both sides separated by a substantial West Yorkshire Police presence^[1]Press.

The Yorkshire Evening Post reported in 2024 that a man had been jailed for racially aggravated Facebook comments targeting asylum seekers housed at the Leeds hotel, in a case brought by West Yorkshire Police that predates the larger August 2025 gathering. The prosecution highlighted a pattern of online harassment focused on the hotel before the wider 2025 protest activity began^[3]Press.

At the £170 per person per night Migration Observatory benchmark^[4]and a reported headcount of 210 residents, the Seacroft Britannia implies headline taxpayer exposure of about £35,700 per night and roughly £13 million per year. The May 2025 NAO contract review put the average per hotel run rate across the wider portfolio at about £5.84 million per year^[5]NAO.