Blackpool hotel to house 220 asylum seekers

The Metropole Hotel in Blackpool will be used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers

The decision to house more than 200 asylum seekers in a seaside resort is "disproportionate and damaging", an MP has warned.

About 220 people will be relocated to the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool from the end of this week.

Blackpool South MP Scott Benton said he had "strong reservations" because the area's public services were "already stretched".

The government said it had consulted Blackpool Council, MPs and police.

Blackpool Council said it had been advised by the Home Office that about 220 people would be moved into temporary accommodation at the seafront hotel.

This formed part of the government's response to the growing number of migrants crossing the channel, it said.

But the decision has been met with opposition from the town's MPs and council leader.

Conservative MP for Blackpool South Mr Benton said the "introduction of 220 people with complex needs into Blackpool is of great concern, especially without proper risk assessments in place".

"I fear that the burden of housing these asylum seekers has fallen disproportionately on northern towns like Blackpool whose public services are already stretched by high levels of deprivation and the impact of Covid-19," he added.

"I will continue to make it clear to ministers that this decision is disproportionate and damaging for Blackpool."

• What happens to migrants who reach the UK?

• Why are migrants crossing the English Channel?

• Patel pledges overhaul of asylum seeker rules

Paul Maynard, Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, described the decision as a "short-sighted, panic measure".

He said it was a "deeply inappropriate choice of accommodation".

"A group of this size, placed in what is already one of the most deprived wards in the country, places a strain on the local community and services which already face immense challenges, and does not help the refugees in any way either," he said.

Council Leader Lynn Williams also expressed "serious concerns" over the plans.

The Labour councillor said the local authority, police and health leaders had raised several questions "about the rationale of placing vulnerable people in such a high-profile tourist location without undertaking any proper consultation with public services".

She said it felt more like "a marriage of convenience" between the Home Office and Britannia Hotels than a carefully thought-out plan as to how best to place asylum seekers in an area with suitable services.

The Home Office said it had met local stakeholders such as police and public health providers as well as officers from the local authority.

A spokesman said: "All the hotels the Home Office uses must meet relevant health and safety legislation and provide their latest health and safety risk assessment."

Regarding concerns over placing asylum seekers in the heart of the resort, he added: "Due to the unprecedented demand, we have had to use temporary accommodation such as hotels to manage demands on the asylum estate."

Britannia Hotels, the company which runs the Metropole Hotel, has been approached for a comment.