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. YorkMix reported in late 2022 that the Home Office would use York city centre hotels and serviced apartments to house asylum seeking families under the Mears Yorkshire and Humber contract, without naming the buildings[1]Press, and a City of York Council decision of January 2024 refers to asylum seekers living in Stay City[2]Council.
No resident or room number has been published for this site, so no headline figures are shown.
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.
City of York Council position
A City of York Council officer decision of 10 January 2024, extending the council's refugee housing posts, gives as one reason the continuing need for private rented homes for refugees arising from positive asylum decisions relating to those living in Stay City[2]Council.
Cost analysis
No resident number has been published for this site, so no nightly or annual cost is estimated here. The Migration Observatory benchmark is £170 per person per night[3], and the May 2025 NAO contract review put the portfolio average at about £5.84 million per hotel per year[4]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
UK asylum hotel avg
£170
NAO
York budget hotel
£75
commercial
Hostel bed
£30
commercial
Timeline
Timeline
Earlier
Operates commercially as a Staycity Aparthotels serviced apartment block by the York Barbican
Jan 2024
Council records asylum seekers living in Stay City
A City of York Council officer decision refers to positive asylum decisions for people living in Stay City.
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 to house asylum seeking families for at least three months under a Mears Group contract. The article does not name the buildings.
- Decision: Refugee resettlement team, Homes for Ukraine funding · City of York Council, 10 Jan 2024
An officer decision extending the council's refugee housing posts gives as one reason the continuing need for private rented homes for refugees arising from "positive asylum decisions relating to those living in Stay City", listed separately from the Homes for Ukraine and Afghan resettlement schemes.
- 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.