Peterborough City Council officials join talks about asylum seekers' welfare as hotel battle is stepped up

Council chiefs have revealed they are in regular contact with Home Office, health and police officials over the well being of asylum seekers being kept in two hotels in Peterborough.

The say the aim is to ensure local services are not overburdened and that urgent needs of the estimated 150 male asylum seekers at the Great Northern Hotel, in Station Approach, and The Verve, in Boongate, are being met.

The details comes as Peterborough MP Paul Bristow battles to overturn a decision to exclude him from meetings of the East of England Local Government’s Strategic Immigration Partnership that discuss the health and well being of asylum seekers in the city.

He says it is vital that MPs are part of ongoing discussions about the relocation and welfare of asylum seekers in their constituencies.

This comes at the same time as the council steps up the use of its planning powers to force the owners of the Great Northern Hotel to restore the use of the 170-year-old venue to that of a hotel.

The council and Mr Bristow claim the 41-bedroom Great Northern Hotel is inappropriate for use as a refuge for asylum seekers because it is a flagship venue for the city and because of its close proximity to key infrastructure.

A Peterborough City Council spokesperson, said: "We continue to have regular meetings with the Home Office, Serco (who are responsible for placing the asylum seekers) and colleagues in health and the police.

"This is to make sure that the impact on services and the community is kept to a minimum and ensure the immediate safeguarding needs of the asylum seekers are met.

"The Home Office advises that this is intended to be a short-term placement, and that numbers will be reduced as people are moved out into longer term accommodation around the country.

The spokesperson added: "We continue to take our own planning enforcement action against the hotel in response to the temporary change of use of the Great Northern Hotel to a hostel.

"The first, served on November 11, was a temporary stop notice, and we received no response. We followed this up with a Planning Contravention Notice, issued on November 16.

"If there continues to be no action by the hotel we will take further steps, which could include prosecuting the hotel, as well as preparing to issue a more permanent planning enforcement notice, which will require the use of the building to revert to a hotel.

She added: "Peterborough has a proud history of welcoming asylum seekers and others in need to the city, but in a planned and co-ordinated way.

"Our resources are already stretched and in addition we believe that the Great Northern Hotel is not the ideal location with the hotel sited at one of the country's major rail interchanges so any issues of heightened tension or threats in the area could disrupt a major communication route for both people and freight.

"Along with the city’s MP, Paul Bristow, we continue to make strong representations to Government against asylum seekers being accommodated at the Great Northern."