Holiday Inn at Woolston closes to public and set to accommodate asylum seekers

THE Holiday Inn at Woolston is set to become the latest hotel in Warrington to accommodate asylum seekers.

The hotel is closing its doors to the public today, with staff saying they are unable to disclose why the premises are closing while no bookings are available online until the end of February 2024.

It’s understood it is being lined up by the Home Office to become the latest hotel in Warrington to provide accommodation for asylum seekers.

During a phone call to the premises this morning a member of staff confirmed the hotel was closing today but was unable to disclose the reason.

There was outrage locally last November when the Fir Grove Hotel at Grappenhall became a venue for asylum seekers with little warning.

At the time Warrington Borough Council and Warrington South MP Andy Carter both attempted to get the Home Office to oppose the use of the hotel saying it was an unsuitable location, with local statutory services already overstretched.
Council leader Cllr Russ Bowden described it as a “shoddy deal” for Warrington, describing it as a “failed Home Office policy and the government’s inability to get to grips with the processing of asylum seeker applications.”
The Paddington House Hotel and the Daresbury Park Hotel near Warrington, have been accommodating asylum seekers for some time.

Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols said: “The Council and I have been in discussions with the Home Office about this since this venue was first proposed as a potential site, making clear that we do not consider it an appropriate facility and that the Government has not been providing the necessary additional resource for local services.
“The Home Office’s own framework requires negotiation and agreement with the local authority, but it is clear that they intend to ride roughshod over the views of our local stakeholders and residents as a direct result of their chronic failure to manage our borders and the timely processing of applications for asylum.”
Warrington Borough Council has been approached for comment.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Asylum seekers set to move into Fir Grove Hotel