Holiday Inn Woolston set to close to public to accommodate migrants

Holiday Inn, on Woolston Grange Avenue in Woolston, will be used for ‘temporary accommodation’ for asylum seekers, it is reported – the third such hotel in the town.

The venue is unavailable to book on its website until at least March 2024, with bookings mainly unavailable for the next 12 months.

Staff at the hotel are said to have been offered alternative work replacements at other locations, while Woolston residents say they have not been contacted regarding the decision.

When approached by the Warrington Guardian, a spokesman for IHG Hotels, which operates the Holiday Inn brand, said: “I am sure you can appreciate all bookings are confidential, so we cannot share details.

“For any queries about asylum seekers, then the Home Office or relevant Government media team will be able to guide you.”

A letter sent by a Warrington Borough Council representative and seen by the Warrington Guardian states that ‘the council objects to an additional hotel when there are areas of the country with limited impact’.

The letter reads: “It is the Government’s duty to consider the safety and wellbeing of wider communities and balance the associated risks or impacts of concentrating hotels within an area.

“It is Government responsibility to alleviate and mitigate such pressure points to avoid growing community tensions.”

Fir Grove Hotel in Grappenhall closed to the public in November to accommodate migrants, while Paddington House Hotel off Manchester Road is used for a similar accommodation, as is Daresbury Park Hotel.

A council spokesperson said: “We will meet with the Home Office to discuss and raise a number of issues in relation to this matter.

The Holiday Inn hotel in Woolston is reportedly set to close its doors to the public to accomodate migrants

“Any decision made to house asylum seekers in Warrington, using hotels or through other means, needs full and meaningful engagement with the council, and we are in touch with police and health partners to ensure our collective concerns are represented.

“There are a number of important local factors requiring consideration, including additional pressures on local services, that as yet do not appear to have been accounted for.

“We are concerned about the location of the hotel, pressures on local services and what the care and support requirements would be.

“We therefore expect meaningful engagement on the possible use of Holiday Inn to house asylum seekers.

“Until this happens, we simply cannot support this initiative.”

The Warrington Guardian also approached the Home Office which also said it does not comment on commercial arrangements for individual sites used for asylum accommodation.

A spokesman did however say: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.

“We have been clear that the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £6million a day.

“The Home Office is committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer.”

They added that the Home Office engages with local authorities ‘as early as possible’ whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation, and that it works to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people.

“We continue to ensure the accommodation provided is safe, secure, leaves no one destitute and is appropriate for an individual’s needs,” they said.