Hundreds sign two petitions to end use of Peterborough's Dragonfly Hotel as refuge for asylum seekers

Hundreds of people have signed two petitions launched in Peterborough to get the Home Office to stop using a city hotel as a refuge for asylum seekers.

Both petitions have each attracted 1,000 plus signatures in just seven days after it was revealed that 146 asylum seekers were to be moved into the Dragonfly Hotel in Thorpe Meadows, which stands close to the Rowing Lake.

One of the petitions has been launched by former Conservative Peterborough MP Paul Bristow who previously campaigned for more than a year to persuade the Home Office to end the use of the city’s historic Great Northern Hotel as a refuge for asylum seekers.

Mr Bristow said his petition had already attracted 1,000 signatures.

He said: “This is not the fault of the migrants themselves but we can’t keep letting Peterborough be used like this.

"Peterborough is a caring city and we already host more asylum seekers than any other location in the East of England.

"This is a residential area with limited access to services and amenities.”

The second petition has been launched by city resident Andrew Macfarlaine.

Mr Macfarlaine, who has set up the petition through Change.org, hopes to get enough signatures to take the issue to Parliament.

So far 1,170 people have signed the petition.

Mr Macfarlaine states: “We all want to help those in need, but other sites should be used that don’t impact our town centre economy.

“Peterborough is to host numerous outdoor events over the year, including dragon boat race, family sports events, This is on top of being home to many tourist attractions.

“It is essential that now, and going forward, Peterborough has sufficient hotel space for visitors and families coming to our wonderful town.”

It was revealed on November 14 that the Home Office was moving 146 asylum seekers into the Dragonfly Hotel as part of a national effort to reduce a backlog of thousands of people waiting for claims to be processed.

It comes about a year after the Home Office stopped using the Great Northern Hotel as an asylum seekers refuge.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We remain absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and continue to identify a range of accommodation options to minimise their use."