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Councils Hold Talks Over Asylum Housing After Mass Local Protests

Consultations close Friday, with councils due to submit responses that reflect local opposition to converting town flats and a Heathrow hotel into asylum housing.

Overview

  • Havant Borough Council’s consultation on moving 35 asylum seekers into Waterloo House in Waterlooville ends Friday, and its response is expected to mirror residents’ widespread objections.
  • Spelthorne Borough Council will meet the Home Office on August 1 to discuss revised plans for an all-male asylum hotel at the Stanwell Hotel near Heathrow Airport.
  • Essex Police continue a dispersal order around The Bell Hotel in Epping, reporting 23 arrests and 14 charges tied to recent disorder at anti-migrant demonstrations.
  • Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and other local MPs have launched petitions and letters condemning the accommodation proposals as inappropriate and urging councils to oppose them.
  • The Government’s strategy to end hotel lodging for asylum seekers by 2029 and disperse them into community properties has sparked protests in Waterlooville, Epping, Stanwell and beyond.