Witney Four Pillars Hotel
The former Four Pillars Hotel on Ducklington Lane in Witney closed to the public in November 2022 to provide accommodation for asylum seekers under a Home Office contract, and that contract was extended through to December 2025 even as the wider hotel-exit programme accelerated[3]Press. On 25 June 2026 the Home Office listed the Oxford Witney Hotel among 20 asylum hotels that had closed[4]Press.
Capacity
115
en suite bedrooms, used as the peak estimate
Per night
£170
per resident
Annual
£7.1m
per year while in use
Background
The Witney Four Pillars Hotel sits on Ducklington Lane in Witney, West Oxfordshire (OX28 4EX). The Cotswold Journal reported in 2023 that the hotel was advertised for sale while still occupied as Home Office asylum accommodation under the contract that began in November 2022, and that it has 115 en suite bedrooms[1]Press.
Contract extension to December 2025
Yahoo News UK and the Oxford Mail reported that the Home Office had extended the Witney contract through to the end of 2025, despite the wider hotel-exit programme that was closing other sites across the country[3]Press. The government refused to comment on operational arrangements for asylum accommodation at the site, and West Oxfordshire District Council confirmed it remained a multi-agency support partner but was not a party to the Home Office contract.
Planning review push and Epping precedent
The West Oxfordshire Conservatives published a letter from Cllr Michele Mead (Leader of the Opposition Conservative Group) and Cllr Liam Walker (Deputy Leader) calling on the Lib Dem-led council to seek injunctive relief to prevent the ongoing use of the Witney Four Pillars hotel for asylum accommodation. The letter cites the August 2025 Epping Forest District Council injunction at the Bell Hotel, which was granted on planning change-of-use grounds, as a possible precedent[2]Council.
Cost analysis
No resident number has been published for this site, so its 115 en suite bedrooms are used here as an estimate of the peak. At the Migration Observatory benchmark of £170 per person per night[5], that implied about £19,550 per night and roughly £7.1 million per year while the hotel was in asylum use (November 2022 to June 2026). The May 2025 NAO contract review put the average hotel at about £5.84 million per year[6]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
Witney Four Pillars (while in use)
£170
benchmark
UK asylum hotel avg
£170
NAO
Witney budget hotel
£75
commercial
Hostel bed
£30
commercial
Timeline
Timeline
Pre-2022
Operates as the commercial Witney Four Pillars Hotel
Nov 2022
Hotel closes to the public for Home Office asylum use
Asylum seekers housed under the new contract.
2023
Hotel listed for sale while still occupied
Cotswold Journal reports the property was advertised for sale during 2023 with the contract still active.
Aug 2025
Conservative councillors push for planning injunction
Cllr Mead and Cllr Walker write to West Oxfordshire District Council citing the Epping Forest Bell Hotel precedent.
Dec 2025
Contract extension end date
Home Office extension confirmed to run through to the end of 2025; longer term position not publicly resolved.
25 Jun 2026
Named among 20 hotels closed
The Home Office lists the Oxford Witney Hotel among 20 asylum hotels that have closed.
Sources
- Witney hotel housing asylum seekers goes up for sale · Cotswold Journal, 2023
Cotswold Journal reports the former Four Pillars Witney hotel on Ducklington Lane, used to house asylum seekers under a Home Office contract since November 2022, was advertised for sale during 2023 while still occupied as asylum accommodation.
- Conservatives call for review of Witney hotel asylum use · West Oxfordshire Conservatives, Aug 2025
West Oxfordshire Conservatives publish a letter from Cllr Michele Mead and Cllr Liam Walker calling on West Oxfordshire District Council to seek injunctive relief to prevent the ongoing use of the Witney Four Pillars hotel for asylum accommodation, citing the Epping Forest Bell Hotel injunction precedent.
- Conservatives demand review of Witney hotel use for asylum seekers · VisaVerge, 2025
Yahoo News UK reports the Home Office extended its contract at the former Witney Four Pillars hotel through to December 2025, even as the wider hotel-exit programme accelerated, with West Oxfordshire District Council confirming it remains a multi-agency support partner but is not party to the contract.
- More military barracks to house asylum seekers after Home Office shuts more than 20 hotels · The Independent (Flora Thompson), via AOL, 25 Jun 2026
Gives the full list of 20 hotels the Home Office said on 25 June 2026 had closed to asylum seekers: Dayz Away Lodge, Dudley; Holiday Inn Ashford Central; Best Western Atlantic, Chelmsford; The Cisswood, Horsham; The Collection Hotel, Birmingham; Adagio, Leicester; Norwich Hotel, Norwich; Allerton Court, Northallerton; Mercure George, Reading; TLK Apartments, Bromley; Best Western Stoke; The Granby (1 The Hill), Gravesham; Hampton by Hilton, Bristol; Delta Hotel Cheshunt; Episode Leamington; Oxford Witney Hotel; Sharnbrook (listed as "Shambrook"), Bedford; the Bell hotel, Epping; OYO Evesham hotel; and Best Western, Wembley.
- 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.