Fir Grove Hotel update & meeting summary

We called a public meeting to give residents an opportunity to find out more about the arrival of asylum seekers at the Fir Grove Hotel. The hotel was closed to the public after the owners reached a deal with the Home Office.

We have visited the hotel and spoken to management company Serco. We also held talks with Warrington Borough Council and reported back to Stockton Heath and Grappenhall & Thelwall Parish Councils.

Helen says: We decided it was important for residents to have an opportunity to find out more. We worked with Grappenhall Methodist Church to organise the meeting, which was attended by about 150 people. The speakers were from Warrington Borough Council, whose statutory duties include looking after asylum seekers and refugees, our local Care UK Charity and Warrington South MP Andy Carter.

Regrettably, without any consultation, the Home Office had simply informed the Borough Council that the hotel had been selected to house asylum seekers for the next twelve months. The Borough Council has a duty of care to these new residents, despite receiving very limited support from the government.

Mark adds: Residents raised a range of opinions and concerns. These included a lack of public consultation, loss of hotel staff jobs, inability to access accurate information about the Home Office proposals, inappropriateness of having asylum seekers in the Fir Grove Hotel, pressures this will place on local resources such as school places and health services, concerns about potential rises in crime, compassion for the circumstances that the asylum seekers are facing and a desire to help where they can.

Borough Council officers explained the situation and the steps they are taking to manage this, despite the relative lack of money being sent from the Home Office.

Care UK Charity explained that they had been involved with other local schemes and had helped asylum seekers with practical assistance including 'Pop-Up Dignity Shops', arranging activities and receiving donations such as clothes and toys from the public. They have offered to act in this way for the Fir Grove Hotel.

Andy Carter explained that despite being a Conservative MP he is not a member of the Government and personally does not agree with the decision to accommodate asylum seekers in the Hotel. He has raised the issue with the Prime Minister and the Home Office, including Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.

We do not have access to privileged information or power to change this Government decision. If you have any queries on the use of the hotel, we recommend these are sent to the Home Office via Andy Carter MP or Warrington Borough Council.

We are grateful to everyone who spoke at the public meeting, and we'll be working closely with Borough Council officers to ensure a system of regular communication with residents is in place to allay any further concerns. We will also endeavour to keep residents informed directly.