Government to shut Blackpool 'asylum hotel' by 2029 and reopen Metropole to the public
Blackpool’s Metropole Hotel - home to hundreds of asylum seekers - could remain closed to the public until 2029, says the government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government will seek to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers “by the end of this Parliament” in five years’ time.
Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle added the use of hotels would be ‘phased-out’ by building new government-owned accommodation for asylum seekers, as well as buying tower blocks and former student flats to house migrants as an alternative to hotels.
The previous Tory administration initially claimed the Metropole would only be used for three months when it closed to the public in 2021 and signed a contract with Serco to become an ‘asylum hotel’.
READ MORE: Today, the Gazette reported how two migrants at the hotel - a Syrian man and a woman - were caught filming pornography inside the Metropole’s rooms and selling their footage on OnlyFans.
According to the Home Office, hotels are "contingency accommodation" and only meant to be used for asylum seekers when other housing cannot be sourced.
But the recent government announcement means the Metropole, one of Blackpool’s flagship hotels, is likely to remain closed to the public until near the end of the decade. It would make it a total of nine years that it has been closed to tourists and other visitors.
Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, has repeatedly raised concerns - shared by his constituents and the local council - that the Metropole is unsuitable for housing migrants. He is again urging the government to close the asylum hotel in Blackpool “as quickly as possible”.
Speaking to the Gazette, he said: “Under the Conservatives, over 400 asylum hotels were opened at a staggering cost of £9 million daily. Here in Blackpool, we were told by the Conservatives the Metropole would only be operating for three months as an asylum hotel – that was a lie.
“Instead of clearing the backlog, they let decision-making plummet by 70%. We’re getting on with reversing the damage, increasing decision-making by 52% and closing hotels.
“We'll end hotel use by the end of this parliament, saving £1billion a year and fixing the broken asylum system we inherited, finally seeing the Metropole reopen as a tourist destination once again.
“I've consistently raised concerns shared by my constituents and the local council that this site is wholly unsuitable for housing individuals escaping war and persecution. It's imperative that alternative locations across the North West are utilised by Serco to alleviate the disproportionate burden on our town.
“While Blackpool has a proud tradition of welcoming those seeking a new life in our country, the current situation has pushed our public services to the brink.
“After 14 years of Conservative austerity, our town's resources were already strained to breaking point. That’s why I continue to urge the government to close the asylum hotel in Blackpool as quickly as possible.”
More than 38,000 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of December 2024, according to the latest data from the Home Office.
The Government said 216 hotels were in use and seven were due to close by the end of April 2025. More than 400 hotels were in use at one stage under the previous government, which was said to cost almost £9 million per day.
It said the delay in ending the use of hotels was fuelled by asylum backlogs, housing shortages, and rising rental prices. But Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged £200 million in funding will be used to speed up the overhaul of the asylum system by "cutting the backlog, hearing more appeal cases and returning people who have no right to be here".