Mayor's View: End the Dragonfly hotel debacle – for fairness’ sake

We already host more asylum seekers than any other area of the East of England. But being decent and welcoming shouldn’t mean being taken for granted.

Right now, 146 men who crossed the Channel in small boats are being housed in the Dragonfly Hotel on Thorpe Meadows. It’s a location that almost everyone locally agrees is completely unsuitable.

It’s in a residential area, with poor access to the services people need to rebuild their lives. Peterborough City Council acknowledges this. So too our MPs. I’ve offered to work with them on a solution — as the public would expect. They refuse to do this.

Because on these issues people just want to see something done. As MP, I helped get the Great Northern stood down by working directly with Ministers and officials. I’m ready to do the same for the Dragonfly.

This week I’ve written to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, asking her to step in and stand it down.

I know the Chancellor has said the use of hotels could continue until 2029. Frankly, that’s not good enough – not for local people, and not for those seeking refuge either. This process should be fair, but it also needs to be planned and properly supported. We need viable alternatives and a proper plan from the Home Office. And a clear timeline to stand the Dragonfly down.

I’ll keep making that case; to Ministers, to local leaders, and in public, because we need to get a grip of this issue and end it pronto.

■ Just over six weeks ago, people in Peterborough gave me a clear mandate at the Mayoral election: get our region moving and deliver a new community stadium for Peterborough.

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Spending Review speech last week referred to a ‘Peterborough Sports Quarter’. If that indeed helps deliver a community stadium, including a new home for the Posh that will serve as a concert and event venue – as well as a new indoor pool – it’s welcome.

But at this stage, it’s more headlines than detail. There’s no confirmation of how much funding will come to Peterborough or who is leading the delivery.

So I’ve written to the Chancellor, welcoming the recognition that Peterborough needs this investment and offered that the Combined Authority work with her officials on pushing forward these plans.

The Combined Authority was instrumental in delivering the city’s new university, and we can help deliver a swimming pool. And we’d do so in a way that fits in with Peterborough’s broader vision for regeneration and growth, working with local partners and making sure any opportunity is not squandered.

The silence on upgrading rail around Ely Junction was disappointing because it’s much needed and would help unlock faster, more frequent trains between Peterborough and Cambridge.

But on this and the community stadium, I’ll keep pushing, because when it comes to getting money from Government, it’s often the squeakiest wheels which get the most grease.