'Surprise' as asylum seekers told to move out of hotel

Some residents have said they are "surprised" that "well integrated" asylum seekers are being moved out of a local hotel.

Women and children who have been living in a Somerset hotel in North Petherton since 2022 have been told they must leave by the end of July.

Linda Hyde, the town's mayor, described the decision as a "surprise" and said lots of the children were well settled in local schools and sports clubs.

A Home Office spokesperson said the use of hotels to house asylum seekers was meant to be a "short-term stopgap under the previous government" but had "spiralled out of control" and cost "taxpayers billions".

Hyde said the majority of the community has been compassionate and welcoming to the asylum seekers.

Unlike some other hotels, those placed in North Petherton consist of single women and families, she added.

Hyde said the children had been "well settled" into schools and colleges.

"Local sports clubs have welcomed some of the residents, particularly the cricket club," she added.

Hyde said many of those living in the hotel have had "very traumatic experiences", and she understood their concerns around the time asylum applications took to be processed.

She said the move would be "really difficult", particularly for children who have "no idea as to where they are going".

"Most of the families would have had many disruptions already," she added.

Sir Ashley Fox, the MP for Bridgwater, said while he welcomed the government's decision to stop using hotels, he questioned where the asylum seekers were now going to be housed.

"The government hasn't been precise," he said.

The Home Office said the move was part of the "government's efforts to fix the broken asylum system" and was about "tackling the immediate pressure of hotel use while driving longer term reform through faster asylum decisions, higher removals, and tougher enforcement".

"Nearly 60,000 illegal migrants and foreign national offenders have been removed since the 2024 election, with last year seeing the highest removal rates in almost a decade," they added.

According to the figures published in December, there were 103,426 people in asylum accommodation, 30,657 of whom were in hotels.

Around two-thirds are housed in "dispersal accommodation" which normally means houses in the community. The next official figures are due out in May.

The government has promised to stop using hotels to accommodate asylum seekers by July 2029.

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