'An absolute priority'- MP calls on Government to close Leyland's asylum hotel after Blackpool victory

South Ribble MP Paul Foster has renewed his call for the Government to close Leyland’s migrant hotel.

Paul Foster said the closure of the Leyland Hotel for asylum use “should be an absolute priority now”, after the Home Office confirmed asylum seekers will leave Blackpool’s Metropole Hotel by July - after campaigning by resort MP Chris Webb.

Leyland background

The Best Western Hotel, on Leyland Way, shut its doors to the public in April 2022 when it became one of hundreds of similar facilities to be taken over by a government contractor to provide accommodation for those awaiting assessment of their asylum applications.

Mr Foster has long called for the hotel to reopen to paying guests, and says it is a frequent concern raised with him by residents. Now he wants the Government to give specific details about the future of the hotel.

Mr Foster said: “The Leyland Hotel is one of the few hotels in South Ribble and has been closed to the general public for far too long. I welcome the Government’s continued action to close asylum hotels. The Government’s closure of 11 asylum hotels is a clear sign that the Government is serious about its commitment to end the use of hotels for asylum accommodation by the end of this Parliament.

“But I am disappointed that the Leyland Hotel was not included in this most recent announcement. I have written to the Minister of State, Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris MP, about this matter and will be writing to the Home Secretary to seek more specific details regarding the future of the Leyland Hotel. I hope to see the Leyland Hotel, along with others across the country, returned to use for tourists and visitors as soon as possible.”

In the letter, Mr Foster said the use of the hotel “remains a frequent concern raised with me by residents, who are worried about the wider impact on the local economy and regularly ask when it will reopen to tourists and visitors.”