The Banbury House Hotel in Oxfordshire has ceased operating as asylum seeker accommodation this week, with occupants transferred to alternative housing under a mandatory relocation scheme.
The three-star Georgian property in the market town had been repurposed to house small boat migrants awaiting decisions on their claims since 2022.
Residents were observed departing the premises on February 18.
Those previously staying at the hotel have been dispersed to unspecified locations elsewhere, with the relocation implemented on a “no choice” basis.
The closure forms part of the Government’s commitment to end the use of all migrant hotels by 2029, with ministers favouring “more suitable sites”, including military bases to reduce expenditure and alleviate pressure on local communities.
Local residents had voiced concerns about the hotel’s change of use, with some claiming the presence of asylum seekers had significantly affected the area.
James Douglas, a 44-year-old business owner living in Banbury, told the Mail that the Oxfordshire town was “not the right place” to accommodate migrants, adding there had been a “marked drop in tourist footfall” since the arrangement began.
Banbury locals claimed the town had witnessed ‘men drinking and shouting’ in recent months
|
GETTY
Tom Reck, a 76-year-old former soldier, expressed similar reservations about the impact on the neighbourhood.
He described feeling “unsafe” and said conditions were “a bit frightening even in the daytime with men drinking and shouting”.
The hotel is now expected to resume its original function as tourist accommodation, four years after first being converted for use by the Home Office.
Sean Woodcock, the Labour MP for Banbury, welcomed the development.
More images from Kent, where men thought to have arrived on small boats were taken from their arrival point by coach | PA“I am pleased that The Banbury House Hotel has stopped hosting asylum seekers as of this week, as the government’s commitments to reduce the costs of accommodation for asylum seekers is being seen in our local area,” he said.
The Labour MP acknowledged the legal obligation to provide suitable housing for those awaiting decisions on their asylum applications.
However, Mr Woodcock noted that hotel use across the country had generated “a number of issues”.
“[Hotels] are not suitable for claimants as long term accommodation and it causes a significant strain on the public finances,” Mr Woodcock added.
Labour MP Sean Woodcock welcomed the closure
|
PARLIAMENT TV
He characterised the move to cheaper alternative housing as progress toward “ending the excessive asylum spending and major strain in the system left behind by the previous Government”.
Despite the Government’s stated ambition to phase out hotel accommodation for asylum seekers by the end of this Parliament, official figures suggest the challenge remains substantial.
Home Office data revealed that the number of people housed in migrant hotels actually rose during 2025, climbing from 32,041 in June to 36,273 by September.
This represented an increase compared with the equivalent period in 2024, when 35,628 asylum seekers were recorded as staying in hotel accommodation.
Demonstrators in the East Sussex town of Crowborough have persistently taken to the streets to protest the decision | PAThe statistics highlight the scale of the task facing ministers as they seek to transition away from hotel use toward alternative sites, even as individual closures such as The Banbury House Hotel proceed.
GB News has also revealed that local councils have been expressing an interest in housing asylum seekers in newly revamped council houses.
Banbury, which is covered by Cherwell, confirmed it has not expressed an interest in the Home Office’s pilot scheme.
However, nearby Oxford City Council and West Oxfordshire District Council did opt in to the scheme.
