AN angry Warrington South MP Andy Carter says he is going to raise the Home Office decision to allow asylum seekers at the Fir Grove Hotel at Grappenhall in parliament in the coming week.
Mr Carter yesterday held a number of meetings to understand the legal options available to Warrington Borough Council, which also opposes the decision.
He said: “I held a number of meetings yesterday to understand the legal options available to the Council in terms of challenging decisions taken by the owners of the hotel and to gain more information from the Home Office and their plans for this site.
“In discussions with Home Office officials, I have been advised that the cohort planned for accommodation this site will be families with children. Prior to arriving in Warrington the refugees will have been processed at centres elsewhere. The hotel has 54 rooms and a maximum occupancy of 79 guests in total.
“The advice received from Kings Counsel was that an immediate legal challenge to this decision to use this site for Asylum Seekers would be unlikely to succeed, not least due the incredibly short timescales before the asylum seekers arrive in Warrington and the location of the owners of the site. Other local authorities are however pursuing legal routes related to planning legislation and a change of use requirements, which I am monitoring.
Mr Carter added: “I have also been contacted by some constituents concerned for the welfare of staff let go by the Fir Grove Hotel. A number of other hotels in the area have been in touch with my office to say they are currently recruiting, including the Mere Court Hotel at Mere, if you know someone looking for employment please let them know.
“I have written to the Home Secretary to express my anger at the way the Home Office has conducted itself in terms of engagement with local residents and local services and I intend to raise the matter in Parliament in the coming week.”
Mr Carter and Warrington Borough Council have opposed the controversial decision due to a lack of resources and facilities to accommodate asylum seekers in the town on top of Ukrainian refugees and an influx of 2,800 people from Hong Kong in the past 12 months.
