Hotel could be used to house homeless people

There are currently more than 450 households which could be accommodated at the hotel, according to the council

A hotel which the government was planning to use to house migrants until it emerged it was then owned by a convicted criminal, could now be used by homeless people.

Milton Keynes City Council is considering using 140 rooms in Harben House in Newport Pagnell as short term temporary accommodation.

The Home Office stopped plans to use the building to house 270 asylum seekers after a BBC investigation revealed its owner, Siddharth Mahajan, 42 was convicted of offences linked to the operation of houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs).

The company said Mr Mahajan severed all connections with the ownership and running of Harben House hotel a year ago and has no beneficial interest in either the hotel or the proposed deal.

Siddharth Mahajan was jailed for 16 months in 2019 for perverting the course of justice and using copies of forged documents

The resignation as a director took place on the day the BBC first reported Mr Mahajan's involvement.

The company is now listed as having one director, a business partner of Mr Mahajan, Varun Chadha.

At the time of the Home Office plans, in August 2023, the Labour leader of the council Pete Marland called the move "shocking" and said it highlighted a "continued level of incompetence".

"The Home Office are meant to be responsible for law and order, not paying convicted felons hundreds of thousands of pounds", he added.

In a fresh statement Mr Marland said “We have been assured by external due diligence that the ownership has changed hands, but of course we will consider any other information that comes to light before the meeting before making a final decision.”

He said there was a “massive chasm” between Home Office plans to “dump vulnerable asylum seekers” at the hotel and council plans to house “local families…while providing them with plenty of help and support”.

'Absolute assurances'

Liberal Democrat councillor Jane Carr, who represents Newport Pagnell South, said she was seeking "absolute assurances that the due diligence confirms that all legal and necessary processes have been, and will be followed, and that previous directors have no influence in the running of the company being entrusted with this contract".

"I feel residents have the right to this assurance," she added.

A council spokesperson said: “as part of our due diligence when considering the use of Harben House, we received assurance from the managing agent that its ownership had fully changed. We will seek further clarification before any decision is made.”

'Lower cost'

A report to be considered by the councillor responsible for housing on 6 August revealed the authority is spending around £20m a year on temporary accommodation mainly in the private rented sector and "there is a need to source lower cost" accommodation.

The building could be used for single people, childless couples or one-parent and one-child households who are waiting for a decision on their homeless application.

'No beneficial interest'

A spokesperson for Bluebelltame and Lotustame, the owners of Harben House Hotel said: "Siddharth Mahajan severed all connections with the ownership and running of Harben House hotel a year ago".

"He has no beneficial interest in either the hotel or the proposed deal between its current owners, Bluebelltame Ltd and Lotustame Ltd and Milton Keynes City Council."

"In effectively giving the hotel back to the city, this deal will deliver tangible and cost-effective benefits to the local community by providing much needed accommodation for its homeless."