MP in showdown over asylum hotel
AWESTCOUNTRY MP is to have a face-to-face meeting with Home Office ministers to demand answers over the Government’s decision to use a prominent seafront hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers.
Torbay MP Kevin Foster was a Home Office minister before being given a role at the Department of Transport in the latest reshuffle by the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss. Now he is calling for clarity from his former colleagues at the Home Office, after around 140 asylum seekers were given full-board accommodation at a Paignton hotel.
Torbay Council has already begun legal action over the use of the Esplanade Hotel, arguing it breaches planning regulations. Councillors believe the arrival of the refugees represents a change of use that would require planning permission.
The council has complained that the Home Office only told it about the arrival of the asylum seekers days before coaches brought them to Paignton. Mr Foster was also in the dark until the last minute, and said: “When notified as local MP, I raised several queries about this suggestion, including the impact it may have on the ability to house those needing temporary housing locally.
“I know local Conservative councillors also raised their objections, with Torbay Council making representations as well. The use went ahead before a response was received to any of our points.”
Mr Foster said the arrangements had been “poor”. He wanted to know how the hotel would be managed and the length of time it was likely to be used in light of the new Home Secretary’s comments on ending the practice of using hotels.
The Home Office said it could not comment on operational arrangements for individual hotels.
TORBAY Council has started action under planning law against the owner of a seafront hotel at Paignton used to house asylum seekers.
The local authority has confirmed it has served a Planning Contravention Notice on the owner of the Esplanade Hotel. The company must respond within 21 days and the council will then decide if planning rules have been broken and permission for a change of use is needed.
The issue revolves around whether the temporary use of the hotel to house asylum seekers changes its use under planning law, which would need new permission from the council. The council has said the contractor, Ready Homes, which is overseeing the hotel, believes that is not needed.
The action follows a similar episode in Great Yarmouth, where the local council said it believed change of use permission was needed for a hotel housing an estimated 60 asylum seekers on the Norfolk coast.
The number of asylum seekers at the 80-bed hotel in Paignton has not been confirmed. They are being provided with full board and 24-hour support and security funded by the Home Office. They are not allowed to work or claim benefits, and get a weekly allowance of £8.24.
Local residents and business owners say they are not against providing a safe haven for asylum seekers, but they have raised concerns about the impact on the resort’s reputation of putting the new arrivals in a prime seafront location.
A Torbay Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that on Tuesday 13 September we served a Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) on the owners of the Esplanade Hotel. This is the first stage in enforcement proceedings and through the PCN we are asking the hotel to provide a response to several questions and return this to us within 21 days. This will help us determine if there has been a breach of planning and if a change of use is needed or not.
“We continue to meet regularly with Ready Homes, who are overseeing the hotel on behalf of the Home Office, as well as meet with our multi-agency partners. This is so we can ensure the right support is in place for those staying at the hotel as well as to our residents who live near to or have a business close to the hotel.”
Most of the asylum seekers are believed to have arrived in England after crossing the English Channel in small boats. The refugees are understood to have fled from a variety of global trouble-spots, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Syria, and are being housed temporarily in Paignton while their claims are assessed by the Home Office.
Torbay Council has said it was only informed at the last minute that the hotel was going to be used, and had no say in how many asylum seekers would come, where they would stay or for how long. Council leader Steve Darling accused the Home Office of incompetence over its handling of the issue.
The owners of the hotel have not responded to requests for comment. The Home Office does not comment on arrangements at individual hotels, but said it “continues to provide safe accommodation for destitute asylum seekers who need it as we work to end the use of hotels”.