Three asylum seeker hotels closed down, government says

Three hotels housing asylum seekers have recently closed as part of a government effort to move the people in them into alternative accommodation.

The Metropole Hotel on Blackpool Promenade, the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale, Altrincham, and the Chimney House in Sandbach, Cheshire, have all been handed back to their owners, according to the Home Office.

Border Security and Asylum minister Anna Turley said the move would save public money and go towards the government's pledge of ending the use of hotels as asylum seeker accommodation by 2029.

The Britannia Group said it was "reviewing its options" about the future use of the Blackpool and Hale hotels.

The Labour MP for Blackpool South, Chris Webb, who campaigned for the use of the Metropole to end over safety concerns for vulnerable families and strain on local services, said: "Residents told me they wanted this to close. We were promised back in 2021 this would only be for three months, that promise was broken."

He said the closure was not just about removing asylum seekers from Blackpool.

"This is not the right place for an asylum hotel. So for me, it is about getting it closed, getting it back to help our local economy.

He added: "We've done our fair share but now it's time for other areas to do theirs as well."

The Metropole and Britannia Ashley Hotels both became asylum accommodation under the previous Conservative government.

The Conservative local MP at the time, Sir Graham Brady said Hale was the most "inappropriate location".

Eleven asylum hotels were closed in April, and a further 20 in June, across the country.

The government has said it intends to use former military sites to house asylum seekers.

"For too long, communities have watched hotels at the centres of their towns and cities become symbols of a broken asylum system," Turley added.

"This government's reforms are overhauling the immigration system to restore control at the border."

In 2023, at the peak of hotel use for asylum seekers, 400 were in use, at a cost of £9m a day, according to the government.

Fewer than 160 asylum hotels are now in use, with more expected to close.

The latest 13 closures are expected to save about £51m, Turley said.

Webb said he believed the Metropole was undergoing some refurbishment, and urged owners Britannia to invest in returning it back to its "former glory".

A spokesperson for Britannia Hotels Group said it understood the local interest in restoring the Metropole Hotel and Ashley Hotel "as community assets".

They added: "We are currently reviewing our options while giving due consideration to local perspectives, and we will share further updates once our plans have been finalised."

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