'Necessary steps' to be taken to shut asylum hotel

Protests took place outside the hotel (pictured) in August

A council has said it plans to take "necessary steps" including legal action to stop a hotel being used to house asylum seekers.

Councillors in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, passed a motion on Wednesday which said that "Broxbourne residents must come first".

The site in Cheshunt has been accommodating asylum seekers since 2022 and was the scene of angry protests in August.

In response, the Home Office said the government was "furious about the number of illegal migrants in hotels".

The Delta Marriott is located on a roundabout off the A10.

People with union jack and England flags brought banners saying "stop the boats" and "leave our kids alone" - and blocked the road - at a demonstration there earlier in the summer.

The Delta Marriott has 143 rooms and has been accommodating asylum seekers since 2022

The motion put forward by Conservative councillor Dee Hart provoked a lively debate during Wednesday's Broxbourne Borough Council meeting.

Fellow Conservative Paul Mason told the meeting the inhabitants of the hotel were "undocumented bogus asylum seekers in many cases", which was "an affront to the people of Broxbourne".

Labour's Selina Norgrove said she took offence "at the idea that 300 people in the hotel were undocumented and [were] making false claims".

"By the very fact that they are in the hotel, they actually have documentation and are going through the asylum seeker process."

Protesters outside the hotel urged the government to "stop the boats"

Norgrove's Labour colleague, Sean Waters, appeared to be quite emotional as he responded to the suggestion that the residents of the hotel were putting strain on local services like health and education.

He said: "Should the children in the hotel be allowed access to local schools or should they be deprived the right of an education?

"If a young child in the hotel is poorly, should they be allowed to see a doctor when they're sick?"

Conservative Peter Chorley said Broxbourne was a compassionate place which "understood the importance of offering sanctuary to those fleeing war... but not financial hardship".

The meeting voted for the Conservative motion.

A spokesperson for Broxbourne Borough Council said: "The council is exploring every option, including taking planning enforcement action to return the hotel to its lawful purpose and secure what is in the best interest of Broxbourne residents."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The government is furious about the number of illegal migrants in this country and in hotels.

"That is why we will close every single asylum hotel – saving the taxpayer billions of pounds.

"We have already taken action – closing hotels, slashing asylum costs by nearly a billion pounds and exploring the use of military bases and disused properties."