Hotel asylum use to end after revamp approved

A Surrey hotel will no longer be used to house asylum seekers and will return to broader public use following a refurbishment that has received council approval.

Plans to extend the Stanwell Hotel, which has been used as asylum accommodation by the Home Office since 2022, were approved on Thursday by Spelthorne Borough Council, paving the way for the hotel's revamp.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported asylum seekers staying at the hotel would be moved to alternative sites once the £10m project started.

A Home Office spokesperson said it was "closing every asylum hotel" but did not say when the Stanwell Hotel asylum accommodation would close.

Government ministers have repeatedly expressed their intention to end the use of asylum hotels, and plans were previously set out to achieve this by 2029.

A spokesperson for the hotel operator Splendid Hospitality Group said the project "represents a significant long-term investment in the hotel and the local area".

Use of the hotel as asylum accommodation has previously led to protests and counter-protests outside the site.

Under the plans, the hotel will get a second-floor extension to its main building as well as a fresh single-storey building at the site's rear.

Put together, it will increase the number of rooms available at the hotel by 43, taking it to a total of 96.

Spelthorne Borough Council received 22 letters of objection to the proposals, with concerns ranging from parking to potential noise from the construction process.

Some residents also wrote to voice opposition over the hotel's asylum use, but council officers clarified in their report that the scheme "proposes to convert the use back to a regular hotel".

According to the council's planning report, the renovated hotel will also more than triple its workforce, employing as many as 15 full-time staff and 20 part-time workers.

In their approval, planning officers wrote: "The design of the extensions to the hotel building are considered to have an acceptable impact on the character of the area and the amenity of the neighbouring properties."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community."

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.