Asylum hotel 'could return to community use'

Plans to return a Surrey hotel housing asylum seekers back to community use have been revealed alongside a £10m investment.

The proposals would see Stanwell Hotel in Staines-upon-Thames modernised and refurbished to serve business and leisure guests, including passengers using Heathrow Airport.

Asylum seekers currently staying at the hotel will be expected to move out if planning permission is granted by Spelthorne Borough Council, the Local democracy Reporting Service says.

The Home Office has previously said it was committed to ending the use hotels for asylum seekers and is working towards alternative accommodation.

The scheme would see the upgrade the current hotel building on Town Lane and increase the number of rooms from 56 to 96.

This also included plans to extend the roof of the original building and adding a single-storey extension.

Developers said the improvements were designed to "modernise the hotel and secure its future as part of the village economy".

Stanwell and Stanwell Moor councillor, Robert Evans, said: "If the planning application is approved, the Stanwell Hotel will be relaunched as part of a well-known global chain."

He added this was "good news for Stanwell and the community".

The hotel is operated by Splendid Hospitality Group under the Mercure brand, which runs more than 20 hotels across the UK.

Councillors have met with the hotel owners to discuss the plans and say the asylum seekers currently staying at the hotel are expected to move out shortly, subject to planning permission being approved.

The Home Office has not responded to requests for a comment.

A public consultation on the plans is due to be open until 25 March.

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