First asylum seekers arrive at village hotel
MP MEETS IMMIGRATION MINISTER
THE first asylum seekers have arrived in North Ferriby as East Yorkshire MP David Davis reveals he has spoken to Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick about the issue.
There has been a backlash in the village over plans to use the Humber View Hotel to temporarily house asylum seekers. The anger stems largely from the lack of any consultation, although there are also concerns there are not suitable facilities.
This prompted East Riding Council to launch a bid to seek a High Court injunction to halt the plans. Lawyers for the local authority argued at a hearing in London earlier this month that there had been an “unauthorised material change of use” under planning rules through the Home Office’s attempts to book accommodation.
But, last week, a High Court hearing denied East Riding Council’s request to extend an injunction against the hotel. The decision was also applied to other hotels across the country who filed injunctions. Mr Justice Holgate said the Home Office had a “statutory duty” to provide accommodation for “destitute asylum seekers who would otherwise be homeless”.
The court previously heard that 77 of the 95 rooms in the Humber View Hotel would be used to house single adult males, with the Home Office using it for at least 12 months. East Riding Council said it was still considering its legal position over the decision. However, the arrival of the asylum seekers yesterday morning suggests any further legal fight may prove futile.
But on Radio Humberside on Tuesday evening, Mr Davis told Andy Comfort he would like to see the council launch an appeal. He said: “I am actually hoping the council appeals it. They have to make an intelligent judgment as to whether they have a chance of success. They can’t spend rate-payers’ money unless they have got a chance of success. I hope they appeal it and I hope it gets overturned.
“Obviously, it is a very local version of a massive national problem and the only real solution to this is to stop this trade in the channel. The people of Ferriby and Hessle think this is unfair.”
That was before the arrival of the first asylum seekers. Yesterday, he further revealed he had spoken to Mr Jenrick about his concerns over the use of hotels and other venues in East Yorkshire.
He tweeted: “I was pleased to meet with Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick yesterday. We discussed my concerns about the Home Office’s plan to house asylum seekers in Humber View Hotel in my constituency, and the existing housing at Thwaite Hall.
“Having recently been briefed by the National Crime Agency, I highlighted the problem of Albanian organised crime in the area and in the wider UK.”
Yesterday morning, a few of the new Humber View Hotel residents were checking in to their temporary accommodation while others could be seen walking around the village, as they explored their new surroundings.
Earlier this week, graffiti labelling the hotel an “asylum centre” was hastily removed. Residents have condemned the vandalism but some raised concerns about the new use of the hotel.
One told Hull Live: “The people arriving have to stay somewhere while their claims are being processed and it is not ideal to house them in hotels but there’s clearly not many other options that are up to standard. My main concern about housing asylum seekers here is the lack of facilities.”
A woman who lives near the hotel felt the main concern was the lack of any consultation. She said: “We have heard nothing from the hotel or the council about what is going to happen. Clearly emotions are running high around here while our questions go unanswered.”
Meanwhile, councillors have called for the Home Office to consult locals and authorities on plans to house asylum seekers in hotels to allay fears and stop the spread of misinformation.
It comes as councillors also heard the authority’s High Court failed challenge against the Home Office plans cost £8,049 in legal and court fees.
Speaking earlier this month, shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper blamed the Home Office’s failure to deal with asylum applications for the dispersal of asylum seekers to hotels.
She said: “The Home Office only dealt with 14,000 asylum applications last year – that’s half the number six years ago but we are still getting people arriving here and they have to be housed while they are being processed. Only 4 per cent of those who arrived in the UK last year claiming asylum have had their applications decided – and the others have to be found accommodation.”