Iconic Blackpool site among 13 asylum hotels to close amid immigration crackdown

Ministers are increasing their use of more “basic” sites including former military barracks, having pledged to stop using asylum hotels completely by the next election.

The 13 closures are expected to save taxpayers £51 million, and brings the total number below 160, the Home Office said – having peaked at around 400 under the Conservatives.

The list includes the grade II-listed Grosvenor Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Grand Metropole Hotel on the Blackpool Promenade, one of the two oldest hotels in the town.

Immigration minister Anna Turley said: “For too long, communities have watched hotels at the centre of their towns and cities become symbols of a broken asylum system.

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“We are turning that around by ending the use of asylum hotels for good and moving people into larger, basic accommodation like former military sites.

“This Government’s reforms are overhauling the immigration system to restore control at the border, and fairness to our immigration system.”

Labour has already closed several prominent sites, including the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which became a focal point for protesters after a resident sexually assaulted a teenage girl.

Shabana Mahmood stayed on as Home Secretary when Mr Burnham took over from Sir Keir Starmer, and there is no indication of a change of approach to asylum hotels.

Plans could include housing asylum seekers at former military bases at Barnham in Suffolk, Bicester in Oxfordshire and Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire – which together could provide accommodation for around 3,750 people.

The Government is also looking to expand the use of existing sites in Crowborough in East Sussex until 2030 and Wethersfield in Essex beyond 2027, despite opposition from locals.

The Refugee Council’s Imran Hussain said: “Hotels often are isolating for refugees, making it harder to access health and advice services. They are also costly and have become magnets for abuse and the far right.

“But an approach that is focused on moving people from hotels to military sites will only go so far, especially when poor quality decision making by the Home Office is keeping a large number of people reliant on asylum support and accommodation for far longer than is necessary.”

The issue of people being housed in hotels came to the fore last year with protests outside some sites.

At the Bell Hotel, protests broke out after resident Hadush Kebatu sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.

He was found guilty of five offences – including sexual assault – and jailed. He was then mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford last October before he was detained and deported to Ethiopia.