Fir Grove Hotel set to stay closed to accommodate migrants

Staff have reportedly been told that the Government contract at the hotel will be extended for’ at least another year’ – a week before it should have finished.

The Knutsford Old Road hotel – a popular wedding and events venue before it closed in November last year – is unavailable to book on the Best Western until at least autumn 2024.

As it is a member of the Best Western hotel group, the chain was contacted to comment, but no response was received.

Steven Broomhead, chief executive at Warrington Borough Council, said: “We are aware of Government plans to close hotels for asylum seekers next year.

“However, we have not received confirmation how that would affect the three hotels in Warrington that currently house asylum seekers.

“We always want to be welcoming and provide appropriate support to asylum seekers, but we have limited resources available when wraparound care is required.

“We would prefer the Government to ensure all council areas across the country take part in an equitable, national dispersal model to support asylum seekers, rather than disproportionately placing them in hotels in areas that are already providing support.”

The Warrington Guardian also approached the Home Office to confirm the matter, and it did not deny the understanding when it would be in its interest to do so given the Government’s pledge to reduce the number of hotels being used to accommodate migrants – at a cost of £8million-a-day to the taxpayer.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The number of people arriving in small boats is down compared with last year, but we must go further to stop the boats in the first place.

“That is why we are determined, through the Illegal Migration Act, to ensure that anyone arriving in the UK illegally is detained and swiftly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.

Fir Grove Hotel in Grappenhall is closed to accomodate migrants

“We are also working hard to reduce the unacceptable use of hotels by moving asylum seekers into alternative, cheaper accommodation, doubling them up in hotel rooms and clearing the legacy backlog.”

News that the hotel would close to the public was met with condemnation last year, with many staff members told they would be losing their jobs.

At the time, Warrington had only one other migrant hotel in Paddington House, while since then, Holiday Inn in Woolston has also closed to house migrants.

Nearby Daresbury Park Hotel is also unavailable to book, having agreed a migrant contract with the Government.

Conservative Warrington South MP Andy Carter and Warrington Borough Council both expressed their disappointment at the time Fir Grove closed last year.

Mr Carter wrote to the Home Secretary to object to the closure and said: “I am very disappointed that Home Office officials have failed to listen to feedback from myself and the borough council. The Fir Grove Hotel is not a suitable location.”

Prof. Broomhead said: “We have other centres in the town and do not have the capacity for any more. This is not the right location for such a facility.”

Speaking when the hotel closed, a Best Western spokesman said: “Best Western Hotel Group is a membership organisation.

“All our hotels are independently owned and managed, and operational decisions to close properties are taken by the hotel owners and management teams.

“We provide our member hotels with marketing, sales and revenue support only.”