Council writes to Home Office over asylum hotels

18 December 2025

Laura Coffey,Northamptonshire political reporterand

Nadia Lincoln,Local Democracy reporter

News image — West Northamptonshire Council said it was working through a legal process over the asylum seeker hotels in its area

BBC A brown metal and glass three-storey building. In front of it are three flag poles and a CCTV camera. There is a grey pavement running along both sides of the building. — West Northamptonshire Council said it was working through a legal process over the asylum seeker hotels in its area

A local authority has written to the Home Office requesting information about its use of three hotels as accommodation for asylum seekers.

It was part of the West Northamptonshire Council's planning enforcement protocol, seeking clarification about their use and future requirements.

Mark Arnull, leader of the Reform UK-led council, said: "We remain committed to pursuing our case against the use of these hotels for housing asylum seekers on behalf of our residents."

The Home Office, which has been contacted for comment, has been given 21 days to respond by the authority.

Reuters Mark Arnull in a dark suit, light blue shirt and pink tie. He is looking to the side, while raising his hands in the air. He sat in a library in front of a book shelf. — Council leader Mark Arnull said residents had raised concerns about the hotels being used to house asylum seekers

West Northamptonshire Council said it was writing to the Home Office after the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary injunction against the use of a hotel in Essex for asylum seekers.

The authority said that ruling "clearly points to the need for the Home Office to provide information to ensure a robust process".

It believes a breach of planning control may have occurred at the hotels and said the letter was "the first step in collating information before deciding whether enforcement action is required".

Earlier this week, the council set up a taskforce to pursue a case against the use of hotels.

Arnull said the hotels place "unreasonable strain… on our local communities".

He added the council would "continue our work on building a robust legal case" while waiting for the Home Office to respond.

House of Commons Sarah Bool in the house of commons. She is wearing black and is mid-speech. She has one hand in the air with her index finger pointing upwards. — Conservative MP Sarah Bool raised Nigel Farage's claims about asylum seeker hotels in Northampton in the Commons

It comes after the Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire, Sarah Bool, criticised Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for saying in November that West Northamptonshire Council would send enforcement notice to the hotels "within days".

She raised a point of order in the Commons on Monday, asking Farage to correct the record and apologise for "inadvertently misleading the house".

But a Reform UK spokesman called the request "a petty point of order".

The Labour government previously said the use of hotels was temporary while it processed the large backlog of asylum seekers.

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