Council yet to receive asylum hotel response - leader

Spelthorne Borough Council leader Joanne Sexton said she has not had a reply from the government

A Surrey council leader says she is yet to receive a "detailed and reasoned response" from the government about a hotel housing asylum seekers.

Three weeks after writing to Home Office minister Alex Norris, Spelthorne Borough Council leader Joanne Sexton said she has not had a reply.

Sexton called for clarity on long-term plans for the Stanwell Hotel after the Home Office replaced families seeking asylum housed at the site with exclusively male asylum seekers.

The Home Office said it was committed to closing all asylum hotels.

"We will look at a range of more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities," a spokesperson added.

'Community tensions'

In her letter, Sexton urged the minister to "provide, without further delay, the criteria that informed the decision to alter the cohort" at the hotel.

"Community tensions remain high and are likely to escalate further unless a commitment is made to permanently close the site," she added.

Surrey Police issued a dispersal order for the area around Stanwell Hotel earlier this month after reports of disorder at the site linked to protests.

Sexton's prior letter asked for confirmation of the government's intentions for the hotel and further details.

She previously said she had also not received responses to earlier letters.

Sexton wrote on Friday that she was disappointed at the "continued absence of a detailed and reasoned response" to her previous correspondence.

The Home Office had previously paused the plan to relocate the families staying at the hotel following protests, with some residents concerned male asylum seekers could pose a risk to the community.

Campaign group Conversation Over Borders previously told the BBC it was a "harmful and unevidenced myth" that men seeking asylum were a danger.

Members of a Surrey church said the families residing in the hotel "fitted beautifully in the area" and were contributing to the local community.

The Home Office plans went ahead in September, according to Spelthorne Borough Council.

A Home Office spokesperson added: "We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery and more detail will be set out in due course."