Fir Grove Hotel, Grappenhall

The Fir Grove sits on Knutsford Old Road in the village of Grappenhall, on the south side of Warrington. As a 54 bedroom Best Western Sure Collection property with a maximum occupancy of 79 guests, it was one of the smaller hotels brought into the Home Office estate in late 2022. Warrington Worldwide reported that the family-run hotel had closed its doors to the public after Best Western's owners offered the building directly to the Government, with Serco taking over management of asylum families on site^[1]Press.

Warrington Borough Council confirmed that the Home Office informed it the hotel had been selected for asylum use without consultation, on a one year lease. About 150 residents attended a public meeting at Grappenhall Methodist Church organised after the announcement, with speakers including Warrington Council, Care UK Charity and Warrington South MP Andy Carter^[3]Press.

Andy Carter publicly stated he was very disappointed the Home Office had failed to listen to feedback and that the Fir Grove was not a suitable location. The Warrington Liberal Democrats noted that the Immigration Minister later acknowledged inadequate consultation with local authorities and committed to improving the process going forward^[2]Press.

At the £170 per person per night Migration Observatory benchmark^[4], a 79 person peak occupancy implies headline taxpayer exposure of about £13,430 per night and roughly £4.9 million per year at full occupancy. Across the roughly 20 month asylum-use window from November 2022 to mid-2024, cumulative spend at that benchmark would be in the region of £8 million. 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.