Wheatridge Court, Gloucester

Wheatridge Court sits on the edge of Abbeydale on Gloucester's south eastern edge. It was previously run by Gloucestershire County Council as a residential care home but had been underused before being repurposed for refugee move on accommodation. ITV News West Country reported in late 2023 that the site would be used for a mix of single men, single women and families granted asylum, all of whom would otherwise be at risk of rough sleeping after the seven day notice period that Home Office hotels apply once a claim is approved^[1]Press.

The site provides accommodation based housing related support to refugees granted Leave to Remain, the majority of whom have previously lived in Home Office asylum accommodation in Gloucestershire and have been granted leave to remain but assessed as not having priority need by the relevant housing authority. Each placement starts with an offer of up to three months while the resident works towards a longer term arrangement^[2]Council.

The first year of the scheme was funded by up to £600,000 of Home Office migrant grants already received by the council, rather than from the standard accommodation contract held by Mears, Serco or Clearsprings^[3]Press. The December 2025 Gloucestershire Cabinet review proposed a one year contract with an option to extend for a further year, specifically to keep the council responsive to changes in migration patterns and Home Office decision rates^[2]Council.

By the end of 2025 the Cabinet report recorded that the site had helped 116 refugees move from short term supported accommodation into longer term housing in the two years since opening^[2]Council.

The site is funded out of dedicated Home Office migrant grant rather than a standard asylum accommodation contract, so the £170 per person per night Migration Observatory benchmark is an upper bound rather than the real per night charge^[4]. The Cabinet papers indicate the council expects costs to come in materially below the May 2025 NAO contract average of about £5.84 million per year per hotel because residents stay for a few months at most before moving on^[5]NAO.