A political row has erupted following confirmation that the Holiday Inn in Woolston will stop being used to accommodate asylum seekers in January 2027.
Conservative Group Leader and Rixton and Woolston councillor Rob Tynan has accused Labour representatives of attempting to claim credit for the planned closure, despite voting against a motion he brought before Warrington Borough Council last year calling for action over the use of asylum hotels.
However, Warrington Labour Group has hit back, arguing that decisions about where asylum seekers are accommodated are made by the Government and not local councils.
The announcement that the Holiday Inn will cease operating as asylum accommodation has been welcomed by both sides, although questions remain about where those currently staying at the hotel will be moved.
Cllr Tynan has opposed the hotel’s use since April 2023, when he first challenged the Home Office decision to use the premises for asylum accommodation.
He says he subsequently wrote to the Home Secretary, raised concerns expressed by residents following a local survey and continued campaigning for the hotel to return to normal business use.
In September 2025, he brought a motion before Warrington Borough Council calling for legal options to be explored over the use of asylum hotels, greater consultation with affected communities and measures to oppose houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) being used as alternative migrant accommodation.
The motion was seconded by fellow Conservative councillor John Roddy but was opposed by Labour councillors, including both Labour representatives for Rixton and Woolston.
Following the latest announcement, Labour councillor Lawrence Sheridan welcomed the planned closure, describing it as the fulfilment of a promise made to residents.
This has prompted Cllr Tynan to question why Labour is now welcoming the outcome when it voted against his proposals last year.
He said: “I welcome the news that the Holiday Inn is finally going to close as an asylum hotel. But let’s be clear about who has been leading the fight on this issue and who has been standing in the way.
“I challenged the original decision back in April 2023, when my own party was in government. I wrote to the Home Secretary, listened to residents and continued raising their concerns.
“Last September, I took that fight directly to Warrington Borough Council. I put forward a motion calling for action, including exploring legal options to close these hotels and opposing their replacement with HMOs. Labour voted against it. Both Labour councillors in my own ward voted against it.”
He added that residents deserved more than political statements welcoming the closure, arguing that the next steps needed to be made clear.
Questions over where asylum seekers will go
One of the main concerns raised by Cllr Tynan is what will happen to those currently accommodated at the Holiday Inn when the arrangement ends in January.
He has challenged Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols and the Labour-run borough council to provide clarity over whether those staying at the hotel will leave Warrington or be moved into other forms of accommodation, potentially including HMOs elsewhere in the borough.
Cllr Tynan said: “I am not interested in declaring victory while the biggest question remains unanswered. Where are the people currently staying at the Holiday Inn going?
“Are they leaving Warrington, or will they simply be moved into HMOs in Woolston, Rixton or elsewhere in our town?
“Will the Labour-run council give a clear commitment that council-controlled housing won’t be used? And what will it do if private contractors seek to use HMOs instead?
“Closing one hotel and moving people into residential streets is not the same as solving the problem. We need to know whether that is the plan, and residents deserve to be told before decisions are made.”
He also reiterated the Conservative Party’s wider proposals on immigration, including leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, establishing a dedicated removals force and increasing the removal of people who enter the country illegally.
Labour hits back at Conservative claims
Responding to Cllr Tynan’s criticism, Jacob Barnard, Chair of Warrington Labour Group, rejected the suggestion that the Conservatives should be credited with the closure.
He said:”Local councils do not decide where people seeking asylum are housed. Cllr Tynan should know this.
“The previous national Conservative Government created asylum hotels and it opened this one. This Labour Government is closing them.
“Those are the facts and Conservatives like Cllr Tynan should engage with them instead of trying to take credit for others’ work.”
The exchange highlights the differing political arguments over the use of asylum accommodation in Warrington, with the Conservatives pointing to their local campaigning and previous council motion, while Labour says the decision to close the hotel rests with the Government.
The planned January 2027 closure will bring an end to the Holiday Inn’s use as an asylum hotel, but the longer-term arrangements for those currently accommodated there have yet to be clarified in the statements provided by either side.
For residents in Woolston and the wider borough, the key question now is whether the closure represents the end of asylum hotel accommodation locally or a move towards alternative arrangements elsewhere in Warrington.
