Copthorne Hotel Effingham Park Gatwick
The Copthorne Hotel Effingham Park Gatwick sits on West Park Road in Copthorne, West Sussex (RH10 3EU), set in a parkland estate dating back to 1841. In December 2023 the Hong Leong Group, the parent of Millennium Hotels, said the hotel had been temporarily housing Afghan refugees under the UK Government’s Afghan Resettlement Programme, and gave 8 January 2024 as its planned reopening date[1]Press. The Sussex Express reported in September 2026 that the Ministry of Defence says the programme has used “the Copthorne Hotel” as temporary accommodation since spring 2025, and the article places that hotel at Effingham Park[2]Press. This is Afghan resettlement, not asylum accommodation.
Background
The Copthorne Effingham Park is a four-star parkland estate hotel just three miles from London Gatwick Airport, set in 175 acres of grounds and dating to 1841. The Millennium and Copthorne portfolio includes a separate hotel, the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick on Copthorne Way, which is profiled separately on this site.
Two Copthorne hotels stand near Copthorne village, and statements by the local MP about “the Copthorne Hotel” do not say which one she means. This page attaches none of them to Effingham Park. Her written question of 2 February 2026 names the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick as the hotel with asylum seekers[3]GOV.UK.
Afghan Resettlement Programme use
The Hong Leong Group’s December 2023 magazine article said that, under the UK Government’s Afghan Resettlement Programme, the Copthorne Hotel Effingham Park had been temporarily housing Afghan refugees who fled to the UK after the Taliban takeover in August 2021[1]Press. It gives no number of residents.
Reopening plans and later reports
The same article gave 8 January 2024 as the date the hotel would reopen. That was a plan, and later reports point the other way. The Sussex Express reported on 16 September 2026 that the Ministry of Defence says the Afghan Resettlement Programme has used “the Copthorne Hotel” as temporary accommodation since spring 2025[2]Press, and the hotel’s own website says it is not accepting reservation requests for accommodation[4]. The Sussex Express article puts that hotel at Effingham Park, but it also quotes the local MP on asylum seekers, and it is not clear that the two statements concern the same building. No source gives a number of residents.
Cost note: not counted as an asylum cost
No resident number or cost figure has been published for the Copthorne Effingham Park. It is Afghan resettlement, not asylum accommodation, so no cost is estimated for it here and none is counted in any asylum capacity, cost or total on this website.
Timeline
Timeline
Pre-2021
Operates as a four-star Millennium Copthorne Effingham Park hotel
Aug 2021
Operation Pitting evacuation
Afghan families flown to the UK under the Afghan Resettlement Programme.
Dec 2023
Hotel described as temporarily housing Afghan refugees
Hong Leong Group’s magazine gives 8 January 2024 as the planned reopening date.
Spring 2025
Ministry of Defence: programme uses “the Copthorne Hotel”
Reported by the Sussex Express on 16 September 2026, which places the hotel at Effingham Park.
Sep 2026
Hotel not accepting reservations
The hotel’s website, accessed on 29 September 2026, says it is not accepting reservation requests for accommodation.
Sources
- Copthorne Effingham Park Gears Up To Reopen Doors · Hong Leong / Millennium Hotels, Dec 2023
The magazine of Millennium Hotels' parent company, Hong Leong Group, says that under the UK Government's Afghan Resettlement Programme the Copthorne Hotel Effingham Park in Gatwick has been temporarily housing Afghan refugees who fled to the UK after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, and gives 8 January 2024 as the planned reopening date. It gives no number of residents.
- Mims Davies presents petition to reopen the Copthorne Hotel in Sussex for business · Sussex Express, 16 Sep 2026
Reports the local MP presenting a petition to reopen the Copthorne Hotel. It places the hotel at Effingham Park and says it has been housing Afghan arrivals under the Government's Afghan Resettlement Programme, quoting the Ministry of Defence that the programme has used "the Copthorne Hotel" as temporary accommodation since spring 2025. The same article also quotes the MP on asylum seekers, without saying which building she means.
- Written question 110031: asylum seekers at the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick · UK Parliament (Mims Davies MP), 2 Feb 2026
Written question asking how many asylum seekers at the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick are single males and how many are family groups. The Home Office answered on 5 February 2026 without giving figures. It is the one source that names this building with asylum seekers.
- Copthorne Hotel Effingham Gatwick · Millennium Hotels, Accessed 29 Sep 2026
The hotel's own website gives the address as West Park Road, Copthorne, West Sussex RH10 3EU and says the hotel is not accepting reservation requests for accommodation, and is closed until it re-opens. It says nothing about who is housed there. The page is undated.