The UK government has shut down 13 more hotels that were being used to house asylum seekers, bringing the total number of closures this year to 44 and pushing the number of remaining asylum hotels below 160 across the country. The latest closures are expected to save taxpayers £51 million, bringing total savings from hotel closures this year to £224 million.
Government Continues Push to End Asylum Hotel Use
The announcement follows the closure of 11 hotels in April and a further 20 in June. The government said the 13 latest closures would free the properties to resume normal commercial activity, benefitting local businesses, jobs, and tourism in their respective communities, Vanguard reports.
Immigration Minister Anna Turley said the government plans to move asylum seekers into larger basic accommodation including former military sites. The Home Office is currently in discussions over three former Ministry of Defence sites that could house up to 3,750 asylum seekers: MOD Bicester, MOD Barnham (both currently seeking planning permission), and MOD Linton-on-Ouse, which is under discussion. Existing military sites at Crowborough and Wethersfield are also being considered for extended use.
Cost Savings and Reduced Backlog
The 13 newly closed hotels are expected to generate £51 million in taxpayer savings. Combined with earlier closures this year, the total projected savings now stand at £224 million. The government added that overall asylum accommodation costs have dropped by nearly £1 billion since the July 2024 general election.
At the height of the programme in 2023, around 400 hotels across the UK were being used for asylum accommodation, at a cost of roughly £9 million per day to the public purse. The government is also introducing a 24-week target for resolving asylum and immigration appeals, cutting down from a current average waiting time of 67 weeks. Since July 2024, it said record numbers of asylum decisions have been made and nearly 70,000 migrants have been removed from the country.
Full List of the 13 Closed Hotels
The Home Office confirmed the following properties have been returned to their communities:
- Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Loughborough
- Chimney House Hotel, Sandbach
- Britannia Ashley Hotel, Hale
- Gold Thorn Hotel, Wolverhampton
- Grand Metropole Hotel, Blackpool
- Nottingham Hotel, Nottingham
- Grosvenor Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon
- Staycity Apartments Deptford Bridge, Lewisham
- Needham House, Hitchin
- Holiday Inn Bridgwater
- Holiday Inn Express Dunstable
- Dubrovnik Hotel, Bradford
- Best Western Brook Hotel, Norwich
Official Reaction and Future Plans
Immigration Minister Anna Turley said the closures mark a turning point in how the government handles asylum accommodation. "For too long, communities have watched hotels at the centre of their towns and cities become symbols of a broken asylum system. 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."
The government said further hotel closures are expected as it continues reducing the asylum backlog and transitioning to alternative sites.
