Concern over asylum seeker Barrow hotel plan

It is not yet known when people will be moved in to the accommodation

A decision to house about 70 asylum seekers in a hotel was "disappointing", Cumbria County Council said.

The property in Barrow will be one of those the Home Office is using for "contingency accommodation", through its contractor SERCO.

The council is concerned the long-closed hotel is not suitable, and the town's MP says local facilities like GP services are already struggling.

The Home Office has declined to comment on the location of the property.

It is not yet known when people will move in, but the county council said it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision which it said had been made by the Home Office without any consultation with the county or borough councils, and shared "at short notice".

It said in a statement: "We don't believe this hotel, which has been closed for a long time, can provide appropriate accommodation, and far more work would have been needed to prepare for something on this scale."

Councillor Ann Thomson, the leader of Barrow Borough Council, said: "There had been no consultation with the council prior to this decision being taken - something we believe other areas across the UK have been afforded and which is extremely disappointing to us.

"However, Cumbria has a proud history linked to the support it has provided to both asylum seekers and refugees in the past ... I hope people in Barrow will welcome those arriving here."

Simon Fell, Conservative MP for Barrow, said: "Furness General Hospital and our GPs are really struggling to cope with the demands on them at the moment, and also the police as well, who frankly have a lot on their plate.

"I put this to the Home Office, essentially saying this is mitigation - I don't think this is the spot for it."

The Home Office said it never confirmed locations because hostels and hotels had been targeted and "it would be a dereliction of our safeguarding duties".