Staycity Aparthotels York Barbican
Staycity Aparthotels at the York Barbican is a serviced apartment block on Paragon Street next to the Barbican Centre, a short walk from York railway station. The Home Office took the property out of paying tourist booking in late 2022 for use as asylum accommodation under the Mears Yorkshire and Humber contract, with holiday bookings cancelled at short notice and the City of York Council notified after the decision had been taken[1]Press.
Capacity
100
residents
Per night
£170
per resident
Annual
£6.2m
estimated
Background
The Staycity Aparthotels site at York Barbican is a serviced apartment block on Paragon Street, opened in the late 2010s next to the York Barbican Centre. From November 2022 the property was taken out of paying tourist booking by the Home Office under the Mears Yorkshire and Humber regional contract, alongside other York city centre hotels and apartments[4]Press.
Refugee Action York and partner organisations confirmed the asylum seekers placed at the York hotels arrived from late 2022 and were supported by Mears welfare staff plus voluntary sector caseworkers, with most residents being families and couples rather than single adult men[5]Council.
City of York Council position
The City of York Council asylum seekers page confirms that the decision to use hotels and which hotels are used is made by the Home Office, with Mears managing self catering hotel accommodation and providing security staff to ensure twenty four hour on site cover. The page describes a Home Office funded welfare officer and partnership work with the council and voluntary sector[3]Council.
The Gazette and Herald reported that paying tourist bookings at the York hotel were axed after the Home Office took the property for asylum accommodation, causing problems for visitors who had booked rooms months in advance and prompting questions about consultation with York City Council before the decision was finalised[2]Press.
Operations and services
The Local Government Chronicle reported that the Home Office notified York that further hotels and serviced apartments would be used in the city centre to accommodate asylum seeking families on at least a three month basis, with Refugee Action York continuing to source private rental sector properties to move residents on after positive decisions[4]Press.
Cost analysis
At the £170 per person per night Migration Observatory benchmark[6], a roughly 100 resident serviced apartment block implies headline taxpayer exposure of around £17,000 per night and roughly £6.2 million per year. The May 2025 NAO contract review put the portfolio average at about £5.84 million per hotel per year[7]NAO.
Per-person per-day cost stack (benchmark)
£170- Hotel rate (room + three meals)£10059%
- Weekly cash allowance£74%
- Legal aid & casework£127%
- NHS / interpreter / utilities£1911%
- Contractor / security overhead£3219%
Cost in context
Staycity York Barbican
£170
benchmark
UK asylum hotel avg
£170
NAO
York budget hotel
£75
commercial
Hostel bed
£30
commercial
Timeline
Timeline
Pre-2022
Operates commercially as a Staycity Aparthotels serviced apartment block by the York Barbican
Nov 2022
Brought into asylum use
Home Office takes the property under the Mears Yorkshire and Humber regional contract; YorkMix and the Gazette and Herald cover cancelled tourist bookings.
2023-2024
Continued operational use
Refugee Action York and partner agencies support residents alongside the Mears welfare officer; council pages confirm continuing asylum use.
2025
Ongoing asylum accommodation
Reviews and council records continue to refer to the property as in use for asylum seeking families and couples.
Sources
- Asylum 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.
- Tourists 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.
- Asylum 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The 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.