THE MAYOR AWARE OF PLANS LAST YEAR
Sharnbrook Hotel is set to be used to house refugees, a meeting heard.
And Bedford Borough Council has shared its concerns with the Home Office over the plans.
During yesterday’s full council meeting (Wednesday, February 1) Councillor Doug McMurdo (Independent, Sharnbrook) asked the mayor about the plans.
“Are you aware that the Home Office has decided to use the Sharnbrook Hotel, Park Lane, as a refugee centre?” he asked.
Bedford mayor, Dave Hodgson, said: “Yes, I was made aware at the end of last year that they were considering it.
“The company representing the Home Office had a meeting to discuss our concerns, let us know they hadn’t decided whether it would be families or individuals, and they asked what the issues would be.
“The issues, obviously, were the location in terms of not being in close proximity to services, and how would the people in the hotel get to services, the impact on schooling, and the impact on health,” he said.
The mayor said there had been another meeting, which he couldn’t attend, where these issues were addressed again.
“I believe there’s a meeting later this month,” he added.
Councillor McMurdo said: “I followed this with great interest from December, as one might expect.
“I was actually absolutely appalled to learn yesterday afternoon that the Home Office [are] mobilising in the middle of this month a refugee centre, craftily calling it an asylum hotel, read into that just how you like.
“I think the biggest worry are all the unknowns, so I’ve laid out my known concerns directly to the Home Office, and also copied the constituent MP, Richard Fuller.
“He has responded today, so we are working together.
“But I think this location is wholly unacceptable, and it will put huge pressure on our services within the community.
“I am calling an urgent meeting with what I refer to as the ambassadors of the community to see what we can do.
“It’s just unbelievable that they’re working with stealth and are not engaging,” he said.
The previous hotel owners, the Ciampi Family, said they had exchanged contracts with the buyer of the site yesterday (Wednesday, February 1).
Their spokesperson said: “The family had no idea this was part of the buyer’s plans, and understood that it would become a care home.”
A government spokesperson said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.
“The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 45,500 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day.
“We engage with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people.”
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